Veritas
by Thing1
Summary: This is a lengthy piece about Sirius Black. It is a sequal, of sorts, to 'This Was Falling' and 'On Flying', but it stands alone well. Sirius & Remus, as agents for the League Against Voldemort, discover a hidden Death Eater encampment, and must bring i
1. Veritas 1-4

****

Veritas 1 - 4

Major 'Thank You!" to Tessie - who saved all of these. Or at least, was the first one to email them to me. So here we are, **Veritas ** is back up in its entirety. This is a sequel to "This Was Falling" and "On Flying". I will have those back up on Friday. Those focused on Remus Lupin - this focuses on Sirius Black & is a bit more action oriented than the other piece. Still, it ain't Shakespear, but hopefully you find it entertaining. If not, go read something else for goodness sake.

This first monster document is parts 1 - 4. Parts 5 - 7 will be up in their own repost.

****

Prologue

***

Malcolm did try, very hard, to look even vaguely interested in the baby.

"What'd you name him?"

"What _did _you name him, Malcolm," stressed him father, softly with an amused expression.

Malcolm rolled his eyes at his father and looked back at Sirius. "What DID you name him, Sirius?"

Sirius laughed. _I love this boy._

"Griffin. What do you think?" He ignored Remus' expression of delight and amusement.

"That's a good name, at least…." Remus and Sirius grinned at each other, and Remus shook his head. Sirius handed the baby to Remus, then picked up Malcolm and held him closely. 

"We'd thought you might choose 'James', you know," said Remus, looking at Griffin.

"No. Same reason as you not choosing it. James is Harry's name to use, if and when he ever _bothers _to get married and have a few kids."

Remus laughed. "He's 22 Padfoot; he's got a little time. Malcolm wasn't born until I was 37. And here you are at…."

"Yes, yes. Let's not say it out loud, shall we, Moony?" Sirius turned his attention to Malcolm. "I'm glad you like the name. It's very important to me that you think that. You need to help me with him, you know. Make sure he grows up as wonderful as you."

Malcolm suddenly looked very sad. "Then…then you should bring him back home. So we can all be together…." He started to cry softly and buried his head on Sirius' shoulder. _Don't, please Malcolm. It broke my heart to leave that house. You didn't understand that I wasn't leaving you._

"Malcolm, please. I love you so much and I hate to see you cry," Sirius told him quietly, patting the boy on the back. He looked at Remus, who looked concerned, but Remus quickly turned his attention to Griffin, who was now waking up. 

Malcolm had been miserable after Sirius had moved out of the Lupin's home a year ago. He said little, but would climb onto his father's lap and cry quietly almost everyday for a week. Remus and Katie had tried to cheer him up, but Malcolm was far too young to understand everything that had happened, and that Sirius' departure was a good thing. 

Sirius had also been somewhat miserable himself, knowing how hard Malcolm was taking the turn of events. _He was just the most wonderful thing in my life for so long. Katie said I was spoiling him, but Malcolm's far too much like Remus to ever be spoiled. Cares too much about everyone else to be so selfish._

"Malcolm?"

Malcolm stopped crying and looked at Sirius. _The brave face. This will become the defiant face pretty soon, I guarantee it._ That thought made Sirius grin. "Listen you, I'm still here when you need me; you know that. Always."

Malcolm nodded, and looked at Remus, who smiled at him. Malcolm smiled back at his father, and then looked back at Sirius, and sighed. "I know. Sorry to blub." Sirius and Remus both laughed at this.

"Blub away, boy. Lord knows we blubed enough over you."

Malcolm patted Sirius on the cheek, as he was want to do with the people he loved the most, and Sirius turned him so he sat on his knee, facing Remus and the baby. "Now, I know Griffin there is not much fun at the moment, but I promise he'll improve with age. Honestly."

Malcolm looked at the baby thoughtfully for a few moments. Then he smiled up at his father again.

"Was I that small?"

"Indeed."

"Can he do magic yet?" Sirius smiled at Remus, who grinned back at him, obviously thinking the same thought.

"Not for a while, Malcolm. You only just started yourself, you know. And you're almost six; Griffin's only four days old, so I guess there's not much to be expected of him." Sirius gave Malcolm a wink. "You know what? I think I'll have to agree with you about babies. They are a bit useless, aren't they?"

Malcolm raised his eyebrows and glanced at Remus with a very surprised expression on his face.

"Sirius Black," said Remus, pretending to sound stern and formal, "we are not to say such things. Even if we do think them. Right, son?" 

But Malcolm was now wearing a rather wicked looking grin that bode no good. "Well, _I _didn't say it."

"But you _did _think it, my little terror, didn't you?" said his mother, walking up and picking him up off of Sirius. She raised an eyebrow at Sirius, but he just gave Katie an equally dangerous smile. "Thanks for setting our parenting skills back another two months. Careful with all this Liz," she said over her shoulder, as Liz appeared behind her. "Never turn your back on him. Or the other one, for that matter." She smiled Remus, who was still pretending to look stern. Malcolm wasn't buying it though, and wriggled free of his mother to go stand next to Remus and give the baby a closer look. He leaned into his father's shoulder and looked at Griffin, now fussing quietly in Remus' arms. 

The adults watched without speaking, all looking a little amused, and finally Malcolm looked up again and spoke.

"I guess he is special, isn't he?"

Sirius felt tears come into his eyes at that, and his smile shook at bit. "Oh, very special, Malcolm. Just like you." _You were the first miracle we'd had in a long, long time. And you made us all so happy, despite everything that was going on._ He caught Liz' eye, and gave his wife a wink. _Well, it wasn't all that terrible, I guess._

****

* 1 *

Sirius Black was seriously put out. Once again, Harry had been forced to spend his holidays with the wretched Dursleys. Harry had insisted that since they had practically stopped speaking to him altogether, it wasn't quite as bad as it used to be, but Sirius wasn't having any of it. He knew that there was a very good reason for it, and that the Dursleys house really was the safest place Harry could be outside of Hogwarts itself, but he was still frustrated. Over everything, really. He was still in hiding, Voldemort still wasn't being taken seriously, Harry was still stuck in that miserable house, and most of the world still believed he was a murderer and the worst possible kind of traitor there was. He let out a deep sigh and laid his head on the corner of Remus' desk. _And one more meeting I have to sit through listening to everyone talk about how we're getting nowhere…._

Mundungus Fletcher cleared his throat loudly. Sirius' head shot back up and he gave Fletcher an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Fletcher. It wasn't you, really. Just me wallowing a bit."

"We're all frustrated, Black. I can't believe my own nephews won't take me seriously on this issue. But, I suspect they are like a lot of people who remember the last time this happened. They don't want to believe it could be happening again. They want to think that Harry well and truly destroyed Voldemort on that terrible night all those years ago." 

__

We all wanted to believe that. The price for that belief was just so high.

"We'll need to make certain that Arthur Weasley and Dexter Tanner aren't being undermined from the inside. Fudge was extremely displeased, I hear, that Weasley missed a few days work last month because he was off 'doing something for Dumbledore'. He's looking for an excuse to sack them both, and any of Voldemort's supporters with ties to the ministry would be delighted to see that happen. Particularly Malfoy, for some reason."

Remus nodded grimly. "Malfoy dislikes Weasley because Arthur likes muggles and all that; you know that. And he can't be particularly pleased over Ron's open hostilities with Draco. Harry Potter's best friend and all that."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful at this. "Actually, Lucius may be having some troubles of his own with Draco, you know. That boy puts up a great show, no doubt primarily for the benefit of Lucius himself, but I suspect there may be more there than meets the eye." _You must be joking. That boy is as rotten to the core as any other member of that family has been, is, or ever will be._ But Remus, to his surprise, was nodding.

"I remember Draco, of course. I'll admit I kept a close eye on him while I was at Hogwarts. Quite rude and brash in front of others, but rather quiet and focused when on his own, I discovered. I thought that was interesting." Remus turned to see Sirius glaring at him, and laughed. "Don't give me that look, Sirius. I know he and Harry are openly hostile to one another. But remember what we were like with Snape, our own version of Draco, right? And look how that turned out."

__

Think what you like. I refuse to believe it. And Harry would have a fit over this conversation. So would Ron, actually.

"I think, gentlemen, that we have ended our discussion for today. I will give some consideration about the issue of Arthur and Dexter. It would be very unfortunate for anything to remove them from the Ministry." _And very hard on the Weasleys too._ He saw Dumbledore catch his eye.

"Sirius and Remus; may I stay and have a word with you for a few minutes?"

The others left, after giving their goodbyes, and Dumbledore sat back down in a large chair next to the open window. He looked out at the garden for a few moments, smiling.

"Remus, this is truly a lovely spot. And your garden is excessively beautiful. It must be a very comforting place to sit and relax. Pity none of these flowers would do well up at Hogwarts. Too cold for the poor things." He turned back, and looked at them with his customary twinkle.

"Now, I have two things to discuss with you both. Firstly, there is a rather talented young witch who has been working with us for some time. Very good at the Dark Arts, and an excellent charmer. And just as good at breaking charms. Almost, I would suggest, as good as you two."

Sirius smiled and gave Remus a wink.

"So I thought with the current problem you are working on, that she might be a very good asset to you."

Sirius groaned. Whenever they worked on a project with others, he naturally had to spend most of his time in his animagus form. It was difficult, because not only did it make it impossible for him to communicate anything in a timely manner, but he had discovered, much to his dismay, that when he spent too much time as a dog, his memories of Azkaban would intensify, and he would start having both nightmares and daymares. _I spent so much time transformed while I was there, just trying to keep sane in any small way; the memories of that wretched place intensify when I feel things in that shape for too long. Blast it; this witch better be worth this._

He knew he had gone a little pale, and he could feel the scowl on his face. Dumbledore looked at him with concern. 

"Sirius, I know that it is particularly difficult for you to remain transformed for long periods of time, such as this project would require," _What? Remus…_Sirius glared at Remus, who pointedly kept his own gaze on Dumbledore.

"And," continued Dumbledore, "it is difficult to work as effectively as possible in that situation, because you cannot communicate anything until you are alone with Remus. Am I correct?"

__

As always. "Yes."

"As this is the case, and time is of the essence, I have taken the liberty of explaining the situation to Mrs. Godine. Both of your situations, actually. I trust her as completely as I trust the two of you, and she is satisfied with everything, and has no issues with either of you. She was a few years after you at Hogwarts, you know. Ravenclaw. Yes, I think she came in your fifth year. You probably won't remember her, but she does remember you two."

Sirius drummed his fingers on the desk, as it always made him nervous whenever someone else was told about him. Particularly someone he didn't know. But he also trusted Dumbledore, and would just have to relax and get used to the situation.

Remus nodded. "Excellent. In that case, she should come and stay here with us while we work on this. Do you think she'd mind?" Sirius had to smile. Remus was becoming more and more reluctant to spend even one minute more than was absolutely necessary away from Katie. The baby wasn't due for another two months or so, but Remus was, quietly, starting to fret. _Katie had made some very good headway in breaking him of some of his overprotective tendencies towards her, but she's not going to get anywhere with this. Good thing she knows it._

Dumbledore gave Sirius a knowing wink. "Actually, I have already asked her if that would be acceptable, and she has agreed. I'll bring her here tomorrow. And the second thing, Sirius, is that I think it would be acceptable for Harry to come here as well, until it's time to return to school. I had been reluctant, I'll admit, to allow this after the incident with Pettigrew last spring. But, I think that this will be quite all right now. And pleasant for everyone, yes?

Both Sirius and Remus smiled and said, "Yes, Headmaster."

***

The next day, Sirius and Katie went to the Dursley's first thing to collect Harry. The Dursleys did not say a single word to any of them while Harry and Sirius collected Harry's belongings. They did stare at Katie, though, who waited quietly in the entry hall for Sirius and Harry. When they finally got everything in the boot, and had Hedwig's cage secured with a seatbelt in the back next to Harry, Katie began to giggle as she started the car.

"Sorry, Harry; I think they were absolutely horrified to see that the wizard population will not be dying out anytime soon." She patted her stomach and gave him a wink. 

Harry laughed and gave a final glance at the house. "I think you're right about that. You look terrific, Katie. How's it all going? Feeling good?"

"Feeling wonderful, thank you. The first few months were exhausting, as you know, but I've now moved into the 'glowing expectant mother' phase of the pregnancy, so that's a welcome change." _Oh my do you glow. You practically float around the house. I'll do best not to mention the happy grin you usually have, too._

Sirius laughed and turned so he could face Harry. "And Remus has progressed nicely into the "Oh my God this is really happening now what?" phase of expectant fatherhood. Don't tease him about it, though, as one of the side effects seems to be a grumpy temper. Well, don't tease him too much. Your dad was the same, you know. All sunshine and light until one day he looked at your mum, looked at her lovely but large belly, and went white as a sheet. "Lily, we're going to have a baby in two months", he said, rather stupidly I'm sorry to say. Your mum just rolled her eyes and went on with what she was doing. Remus and I teased him mercilessly about it for at least a week. I think Remus is regretting that, now that he knows more how James felt."

Harry grinned. "Wait until we get a go at you." _At me? I'm the most wanted criminal in the wizard world. Glad to see he's so optimistic for my future._ But he smiled, and turned back to watch the world outside the window roll silently by, oblivious to the fact he was there.

***

They arrived back at the Lupin's shortly before lunch. While Sirius and Harry unpacked the car, Katie took Hedwig and walked into the house. Out of the corner of his eye Sirius saw Remus walk out and give her a kiss, then he seemed to be speaking to someone next to him Sirius couldn't see. _Must be our new partner. Wonder if I'll recognise her?_

Sirius turned and set down Harry's trunk as Remus and the woman he assumed was Mrs. Godine walked over. Harry gave Remus a hug.

"Hi Remus. Thanks so much for letting me come."

"You are always welcome here. I'm sorry we couldn't have you here for the summer, but, as you know, Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. Not that some of us didn't try very hard to convince him otherwise." Sirius laughed and put an arm around Harry's shoulders.

Remus turned to the woman next to him. "Elizabeth Godine? I'd like you to meet Harry Potter," the woman shook Harry's hand, "and Sirius Black." 

Sirius stepped forward and had his first really good look at her. _I don't remember her, but she was five years behind us. _She was a few inches taller than Katie, and rather stocky looking. She kept her straight dark blonde hair pulled in a ponytail, and wore very plain grey robes. But her hazel eyes were very bright, and she had a very calm and collected manner that Sirius liked instantly. _Seems very trustworthy, if not a little severe. Rather like McGonagal, actually._ He shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Godine. I'm afraid I don't remember you from Hogwarts, though Dumbledore said you were there around the same time we were. Must not have served any detentions together."

She gave a wonderful deep laugh, and shook his hand. "No. Actually, I never served any detentions while I was there, I'm afraid. Ravenclaws aren't known as quiet bookworms for nothing."

"Now I remember one or two Ravenclaws serving a few detentions with me. With us, actually," he said grinning at Remus.

"Well, I do remember you both, detentions not withstanding. Actually, what I really remember is your exit at graduation. Don't think anyone has ever managed to top that one."

"Thank you, Mrs. Godine. A lot of planning went into that. Glad to see our efforts didn't go to waste." He looked at Harry, who obviously was dying to hear what this was about, and just mouthed '_later'_.

"Please, call me Liz. I'm not one for much fuss and formality."

Remus smiled. "Then you'll do just fine here. I can't thank you enough for agreeing to come here to work. Your husband is very understanding to allow this."

"Actually, Mr. Lupin, I'm a widow, so this is no bother at all." She smiled, but Remus looked instantly apologetic. _His least favourite word in the universe. Good thing we get to stay here and work on this for a while yet._

"Please accept my apologies, I had no idea." 

"Really, Mr. Lupin, thank you but it's quite alright. It happened a while ago and I guess I just didn't feel like giving up the name." She smiled warmly at them.

"Please, call me Remus. Well, shall we get some lunch? Afterwards, Sirius and I will start explaining to you what we've been up to in greater detail. Harry, let me help you with your trunk here." Remus and Harry hoisted his trunk between them and started in to the house. Sirius and Liz followed.

"I am pleased, Mr. Black, to have…."

"Sirius." He smiled at her. 

"Sirius, of course. I am pleased to be helping with this. Dumbledore only explained a few details, but this is quite interesting. How did you and Remus come across this anyway?"

"A long story that infuriates Katie, unfortunately. We'll fill you in out of earshot. But hopefully we're right about what we think it is. Something is hidden there, we just can't figure out how to get past the charms and spells hiding it. Right now we're deep in the exciting world, although Remus' happy world, of researching and learning every revealing, breaking, and transparency charm ever written."

Liz smiled at this. "Dumbledore did say that Remus preferred being at his house these days. When is the baby due? I assume it's their first."

Sirius grinned. "Our new Marauder is due at the start of November. Yes, it is the first, but trust me, he'll be just as fidgety with any others who may come along."

She laughed. "Well, that's as it should be, I suspect. We never got round to having any children ourselves."

Sirius looked at her evenly. "You can join me and live vicariously through this one."

As they walked into the dining room, she looked back at him and asked "Why 'our new marauder?"

Katie groaned and Harry and Remus laughed.

"Liz, you will learn more details than you care to of their rather sordid career at Hogwarts if you stay here for any length of time. They called themselves the 'Marauders' then. They regard this child as an opportunity to wreck havoc, even from afar, yet again"

Remus and Sirius gave her very innocent looks.

"Sordid? Katie, love, that's not entirely appropriate."

Liz grinned. "Yes, I may not have met you at Hogwarts, but I admit I did love getting details of what you all had been up to. I'm sorry to say that they were quite the heroes with our year, Katie. Especially after that run-in with Mr. Filch the night after Griffyndor won the Quiddich cup my third year."

Harry again gave Sirius a rather pleading look. This was a new one. _I'll die before I tell this story in front of Katie. Remus can take his own chances._ All he said to Harry was "That's the night we lost the Map. And that's all you get."

Remus flushed and didn't meet his wife's eye, even though she was grinning. Katie turned to Liz. "You don't have any details on that, do you?"

Sirius caught Liz' eye. _Please, I realise I hardly know you, but I'm begging you not to…_

"No, actually," she said calmly after catching Sirius' eye briefly. _Bless you._ "Well, not about what happened, at least. But anything that put Mr. Filch out, well, was regarded as a happy event even by the Slytherins."

Harry laughed, but controlled himself when he saw Katie giving him a look.

"Yes, I've met poor Mr. Filch," she said, starting on her lunch. "I made him very nervous for some reason."

Sirius laughed. "I'd told him the good news by then, and I'm sure he was probably already counting the days before our new Marauder hit the school grounds." He winked at Liz. "He'll need eleven years to prepare himself, I should think." Liz laughed and winked back. _I like this one. She'll be just fine._

****

**2 **

Liz quietly got up and went downstairs to see if she could make some tea. It was early yet, and she didn't hear anyone else about, until she came to the open kitchen door. Then she heard two people speaking softly. She thought maybe she should go to back to bed. _It's a little awkward being in someone else's house. Perhaps they wouldn't like the intrusion…but I was told on no uncertain terms to make myself at home, and if I don't get some tea, or coffee…oh lovely coffee… I'll never wake up._

She stepped into the kitchen, and saw Sirius Black sitting at the table speaking in quiet tones with Harry Potter. They both looked up. She was relieved to see that when they saw her they smiled, and did not seem at all put out by her entrance.

"Good morning!" said Sirius, "another light sleeper. Excellent. Join our early morning chat group, won't you?"

"Want some tea?" Harry asked, getting up and going over to the stovetop. _Well so far everyone is very nice…._

"Yes please. Afraid I'm not too much good without a strong cup to get me going. Not a chance of coffee is there?"

Harry smiled as he handed her the cup. "Sorry, no. Katie's not allowed to drink it right now, and she's a bit of a coffee addict. So all coffee has been removed from the house because even the smell of it tends to give her cravings."

Sirius smiled and nodded in agreement. "A sad Katie-girl equals a sad and _grumpy _Remus, so we thought it best to just avoid the whole um, 'caffeine' mess and ban the coffee."

"But isn't tea just as strong in caffeine?"

Sirius laughed at this one.

"You are a Ravenclaw aren't you? I had no idea what 'caffeine' was until Katie filled me in on the subject." She grinned at him as she sat down at the end of the table opposite them.

"Actually," continued Sirius, "Katie's the healer so she can give you the details of _that_, but the basic fact is Katie doesn't care for tea all that much. She keeps to some harmless little concoction she's given her other expectant mother patients over the years to drink."

She nodded as she looked at them over the rim of her mug. _This is actually all quite fascinating. Harry Potter. Never thought I'd actually see the boy. Well, young man now, isn't he? And everything Dumbledore told me about what happened to Sirius there. I can't even begin to imagine what he must have gone through in that place for all those years. Seems well enough though. Interesting; I was always told that most people are driven mad by the Dementors within a few years at most. And he lasted in that hell for…12 was it? This is a rather extraordinary man._

"So what is the subject of the early morning chat," she asked, when she realised that they were watching her quietly and saying nothing. _I have intruded. Isn't Black his Godfather? _

"I was telling Harry, completely off the record, some of the details of what Moony and I are working on. Which, of course, I will deny vehemently and with great indignation if anyone accuses me of doing it. I think this could be important for him to know, otherwise he'd just have to settle for trusting Moony and I to know what's best for him."

Harry said nothing, but reached over and gave Sirius a light slap on the back of the head.

Liz smiled at Sirius, who grinned and made a face at Harry. "I'm sorry, 'Moony'? Is this someone else working on the project with us?"

"No, that's me."

Liz turned to see Remus walk in, looking very tired and a little pale, but smiling.

"Nickname from school. He's Padfoot," he added with a yawn.

"Why Padfoot?" _Moony seems obvious. After what Dumbledore said, at least._

Sirius just gave her a wicked smile that, she was surprised to find, made her catch her breath a bit. 

"Just boys being boys and all that. No good reason."

She looked back at Remus to ask him something, and saw that he was looking at her with a quiet, sad smile on his face. He turned his attention back to his tea as soon as she caught his eye though. _He noticed I didn't ask about Moony, and probably got that I figured that one out. Dumbledore said that he was exceptionally bright, but rather sensitive on this subject; I'd best not mention anything. I'd be pretty sensitive too._

"Sirius was…." She stopped. _Oops. Didn't he say he wasn't supposed to be talking to Harry about all this? What if Remus gets cross with him?_

But Remus just smiled again and sat down next to her. 

"Telling Harry all about it; yes, we agreed last night that this was probably best. He'll be safe in Hogwarts long before we get anywhere near getting inside those wards, as it happens, so that's alright. So long," he added, looking at Harry with a smirk, "as Dumbledore doesn't hear about it. He'll know we told you, but the unwritten law is that he _doesn't_ know we told you, as ever."

"Don't worry, Remus. I swear on the grave of Godric Griffyndor that…I learned my lesson last time I let something slip." Harry grinned and Sirius gave a dramatic sigh.

"Yes, that was rather unpleasant. Actually making Dumbledore angry is about as difficult as getting Moony worked into a fit. But you managed it."

Liz smiled as she sat watching this exchange. It had been a long time since she'd been part of a group just sitting and talking over tea in such a casual, friendly fashion. Before her husband had died, their house had been the unofficial meeting place for all their friends. _All those lovely, silly muggles. What a bunch of clowns we were. Terribly clever, hyper and invincible. Almost. _She looked back at Sirius. _He's not really as I remember him, but it's been a while. Such a handsome boy he was. Helen and Tobbette always looked like they were going to faint whenever he chanced to walk by us in the halls or on his way out from the Great Hall at meals. I thought they were just so silly, but maybe they had a point and I just wasn't paying attention then. Boys were not high on my agenda then, as I recall._

"Well, Sirius, how far did you get?" she heard Remus say. _Now he does look exactly the same, just a little older what with the greying hair and the lines around his eyes. But I was always struck by how calm and controlled he seemed, in contrast to Black and Potter. Now I know why, I guess._

"Up to our fourth day in the tree, and you asking me for the fifth time that afternoon if I thought Katie was feeling better." He winked at Remus who laughed, but said nothing. Sirius continued.

"Remus could see where the wards started, of course. But they were unlike anything we'd ever come across. And they covered a very large area, so we assumed that there must be a large building or house of some sort hidden behind them. Concealing wards are, as you both know," he glanced at Harry and Liz, "about as complicated as it gets. This wasn't a question of someone using a secret keeper" Liz noticed Harry grimace and Sirius' voice had shook a bit at that, "because that charm just hides people, not places. Simple protection wards weren't going to do the job either. They don't want to keep people out; they don't want people to know it's even there."

"But it had occurred to us that maybe the people going in and out of the place did have secret keepers, and that was why we could never see anyone coming or going. Finally, though, we noticed a small group coming through the forest to the corner we had decided to watch. It was the smallest point in the whole area, and we _hoped _it was where the entrance would be. The wards we'd put up on the tree were far enough away from any logical path to that point, so we felt safe in assuming nobody would run across them. Sure enough, the group kept to what seemed the easiest path to the corner. Good thing too. There were five of them. Remus and I are _brilliant_, of course," he winked at Liz who smiled in return, "but five seemed a bit much. We are getting a bit long in the tooth, you know."

"Speak for yourself Padfoot. I was just worried you might hurt yourself falling out of that tree while I dealt with them myself." Liz let out a small laugh and Remus smiled at her out of the corner of his eye.

"In any event, our decrepit selves stayed up in the tree to see how they were going to get in. We assumed they'd have to use an incantation to open the ward. But suddenly, they just walked right up to the edge we'd found and vanished. Without a sound, without a wand in sight. Just walked into thin air. Or rather, just walked right into the ward. I've never heard of such a strong ward that can do that. Have you, Liz?"

She looked up at him. _No. This is rather frightening. Only dark magic can conceal like that. _She shook her head.

"No. This is very troubling, though. I can see why Dumbledore needs this solved quickly. Concealment wards are based in dark magic, of course, you know that. What revealing charms did you use to see if you could follow them?"

Remus shook his head. "There wasn't time or opportunity. We'd thought we would be able to manage that while they stopped to do an incantation. But they were just gone all of a sudden."

"What did you do next?"

Sirius looked, nervously, at the door to the kitchen, and Liz heard Remus chuckle. "She's still asleep. Tossed and turned most of the night, poor thing. So you're safe yet."

Sirius grinned rather apologetically, and turned to Liz. "This is the bit that infuriates Katie. At my urging, we decided to do something, well, rash."

"Rash?"

"Yes. We climbed down decided to give a transparency charm a go. Just on the corner…." He trailed off at the expression on Liz's face, and sighed. "Yes, that was Katie's reaction too."

"But that's so dangerous! And difficult! What would you have done if it had worked and you found that whatever was back there was a lot more than the five who had just entered? They'd have seen you, too! Or a least you can assume that anyone who put so much trouble into those spells would also have spells that alerted them if anyone was trying to break them!" _What an idiotic thing to do. I thought Dumbledore said they were some of the brightest wizards he'd ever taught. Of course, look at their behaviour when they were younger…._

"Look, I said it was my fault. I talked Remus into it; Remus was as always the sane voice of reason." Liz looked at Remus, who shrugged.

"Just because I'm the sane voice of reason doesn't mean I'm listened to."

"But," she said, still hearing herself speak in a rather angry tone, "you went along with it." Remus just frowned and nodded. She felt instantly apologetic. Listen to me, snapping at the man in his own home. "Sorry, that was rude of me. I'm just surprised…."

Remus looked back at her with his quiet smile and kind expression. "Don't be. As Sirius has mentioned, you aren't the only one who's outraged at our being so foolish. I think we were just caught in the moment, as it were. I did let him talk me into doing it."

Liz gave him a faint smile and turned back to Sirius. "So, what did happen?"

Harry, she noticed, frowned at this and gave Sirius a hard look. He smiled at his godson and focused his gaze on the table.

"Exactly what you would expect. The spell bounced right off the wards and hit us both full force, knocking us into a few trees and throwing us on the rather hard ground. When I came to, it was pitch black. I got Remus to wake up, finally, after giving me a very good scare, and we apparated back at the house. Showing up back here in the middle of the night, after four days of being off somewhere, and not telling anyone where, covered in cuts and bruises and quite ill from the effects of the spell bouncing back on us, was very badly received. I can honestly say I've never seen Katie so utterly, completely furious. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that angry."

"I wasn't very happy myself," added Harry. He looked at Liz. "Katie sent me a note explaining what they'd done."

Sirius groaned. "She was seeking revenge. She sent one off to Dumbledore that same day. Not a pretty lecture, that. Keep this in mind, Liz; that is not a woman to be trifled with. We've spent the last two weeks on the best behaviour of our lives. She's only just really started speaking to me again."

Of course she was upset. Taking foolish risks only leads to…leads to… She felt herself getting very upset, thinking back on that. Stop it. That was so long ago now. Just get on with what you came here to do. She took a deep breath and looked back up at Sirius, who, she noticed, was looking at her with some concern. 

"You're very, very lucky no one found you, or came looking to see what had happened," she told him.

"We know that, too. Very lucky. Rest assured that this won't be happening again without some very careful planning."

Liz nodded. "That's why I'm here, then. To help plan this"

"Probably to do a little babysitting, too," said Harry, still scowling at Sirius. Then he turned to Remus. "Can I help with this? I know I can't do any spells…."

"NO!" cried Sirius. "Absolutely not! This is too dangerous and too advanced. You will not be coming anywhere near any of this. Finish your homework, help Katie, and don't even think I'm going to give in on this." He stood up very suddenly and stormed out of the room. Liz was taken aback. That came out of nowhere….

"Sirius!" Harry called after him, trying to follow. But Remus put out an arm, stopping Harry, and steered him to sit back at the table next to Remus.

"Harry," he said quietly. "Don't. Let him walk it out. He'll just yell at you again, and that will make him more miserable. You know he can't bear the idea of anything hurting you. Neither can I, actually." Liz saw Remus smile at Harry, and Harry, after a moment, gave a weak smile back.

"I shouldn't have asked…."

Remus shook his head, and stood. He gave Harry a pat on the back as he went to start making breakfast. "I knew you would. But it'll be fine. You know he can't bear your being upset with him, so it's safe to say he'll be back and apologising soon. Now, eggs sound alright with everyone for breakfast?"

Harry jumped up and went over to Remus. "I'll make breakfast. You sit down. You look a little tired." Liz noticed that Harry gave a quick glance in her direction, but turned his attention quickly back to Remus, who smiled the same sad smile she had seen earlier.

"Yes. Thanks, Harry. I appreciate it."

"Always."

***

They spent the morning in Remus' study reviewing what spells and charms Remus and Sirius had already tracked down. They were sorted by "We know this", "We don't know this" and "We're not sure we want to know this". She chuckled at the unorthodox but oddly efficient filing system. She ran through the "We know this" list, and was happy to see that she also knew all these spells and incantations. She also found a few on the "We don't know this" list she was familiar with, and moved them. Liz, however, wasn't familiar at all with any of the "We don't think we want to know this" group. As she sat on Remus' large couch reading an explanation of one of the spells, she had to agree with their category titles. This is a very nasty spell indeed. I wonder if three wizards are enough to hold it.

Sirius had not come back for breakfast. Katie mentioned that she had seen him out in the meadow when she came down herself, but Liz noted that nobody moved or said anything, and Katie just nodded when she got no reaction to her news. Must be a standard event. He did reappear a few hours later, and joined Remus and Liz working in the study without a word. Liz noted that Sirius and Remus seemed to communicate a great deal to each other without ever actually speaking. A nod, a wave, an eyebrow; they had their own system down. _I used to be like that. It gets that way with people you know so well, doesn't I? Still, I'll need them to actually talk to me. _

They did, happily, answer any questions she had, listened with interest to her descriptions of spell casting techniques, and made certain she knew where everything was that she might need to test things. She found that she was actually very relaxed being here, and she hadn't thought that would be the case. She had felt odd, going to live in a stranger's house; but when Dumbledore had explained why being there was so important to Remus, she couldn't have ever said no to the idea.

She found Remus rather curious. The idea that the man was a werewolf seemed so utterly inappropriate to what she'd seen of him so far. _Not that you've exactly had much experience with them, have you? Actually, maybe you have. Maybe you've known some your whole life, but because you have some strange notion in your head over what they should act like, you never noticed them. Remus seems to be one of the most calm, pleasant people I've met in a while. Hardly seems like he could ever change into some beast._

And she found Sirius fascinating. He was very intense, but very focused. In her life, most of the intense people she knew had an attention span of five minutes; they were always looking for something else to be doing with themselves. She also noted that, as the day progressed and Remus began to look more tired and somewhat strained, Sirius' mood shifted and he became very calm and very attentive to Remus. By the end of the afternoon, Remus wasn't even allowed to open a book on his own, Sirius did everything. Finally, around four in the afternoon, Sirius had announced that they were done for the day.

Remus had looked at him with a faint smile. "You and Liz should keep…."

"No." Liz noticed the very strong, no nonsense tone Sirius used, even if he wasn't actually looking at Remus. Remus smiled at her, and stood up from behind his desk. 

"Shall we have something to eat, then? Liz, are you hungry?"

They hadn't actually stopped for lunch. Harry had brought something in to them in the early afternoon, without a word and never once catching Sirius' eye as he quickly set down the plates and left, with a smile at Liz. Sirius was unhappy he was even in this room. Good thing for Harry he seemed to choose to focus on Remus instead. What's wrong with him, anyway…. Suddenly, she remembered that two nights ago, when she was packing to come here, she had stopped to rest, and sat in her window, star gazing. Only it was difficult to see anything, because the moon was so bright. Nearly full. It must be tonight then. She suddenly felt a little odd, but chided herself immediately for that.

__

Stop it. This is a wonderful man. He lives here with his wife, they're about to have a baby, his best friend lives with them, and Dumbledore would never allow Harry Potter to be here if it wasn't totally, completely, safe. Stop being such a fool. You know he takes something to keep him under control. You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking….

She smiled at Remus. "I'm starving, actually. Food sounds perfect."

Sirius looked up at her and smiled. "Oh, you're going to eat well in this house. I'm a disaster, sadly, in the kitchen, but both Remus and Katie are wonderful cooks. You can show your appreciation by helping me clean up afterwards. And I will be very happy for the lovely company, too."

She felt herself go slightly pink. "Sounds fun."

Remus laughed as he walked out of the room. "Practically everything with Sirius is fun, Liz. That's why he's so dangerous."

Sirius winked at her, and then stopped her before she walked out after Remus. What?

"Liz, I know that you've noticed that Remus isn't feeling well. Dumbledore said that he explained to you about both of our situations, correct?" Liz just nodded. _I've upset him. He saw me realise what's happening, or something. Drat. Then Remus must have seen something on my face too. Wonderful first impression. Let them know you're just as silly as everyone else, even when you know…._

But Sirius was still smiling at her. "Tonight is the full moon. He'll have a little light supper with us now, then he'll come in here for the night. You know he's perfectly harmless, right?"

"Yes of course."

"I realise that this may still seem strange and probably a little frightening. I remember years ago when I found out. I thought it was terribly exciting and utterly terrifying all at once. And this was long before any wolfsbane potion. But as I'm sure you've noticed, Remus is one of the kindest and quietest men on the earth. He has never, ever, let the wolf hurt another human being. He's gone to extraordinary lengths his entire life to prevent that happening. You are perfectly safe, I promise."

Liz looked at him quietly. He didn't need to go out of his way to make certain some stranger was feeling alright. _That's very kind. Of course, he'd probably be furious with me if I said anything bad about Remus, or expressed any concerns anyway. Lucky I have none._

"Really, thank you. But I have no issues with any of this. I have noticed Remus is very nice, and I can't imagine him as …" She trailed off, not knowing how to finish that sentence. But Sirius understood and nodded.

"Let's just get some dinner then. We don't talk about it. This is just something that happens here, and then it's gone. No fuss, no drama. Katie and I made a deal never to let the wolf have him back, and it's not going to, trust me. Now, may I have the honour?" he asked, the laughter she had heard in his voice yesterday and that morning finally coming back, as he held his arm out for her. 

She grinned, dropped a curtsey, and took his arm. He was delighted with her response and laughed as he walked her to the kitchen. This is a very interesting man indeed.

****

*** 3 ***

Over the past two weeks, Sirius had grown used to having Liz working with Remus and himself, and was pleased to find that she was rather a pleasant companion. She was quiet and reserved, but showed a good sense of humour and brilliance at charms. _Good as Lily was._ She was also, as he had suspected, a very thorough and focused researcher. Once she had a problem to work out, that's all she thought about until she'd found a solution. 

Liz and Katie also seemed to take an instant liking to one another, and had become very chummy. Sirius found that he enjoyed watching them interact, like when making dinner or something, and comparing the two. Katie was definitely more outgoing and had a wicked sense of dry humour that Sirius loved, but Liz had a calm, very easy going manner that he found…soothing seemed to be the best word. Not like Remus was, but Remus was soothing to Sirius probably more from their long friendship and affection for each other than from actually being calm. Remus seemed calm most of the time, but Sirius knew him too well. _Remus is not calm. He's controlled. There's a difference. He can easily get worked up over something, but I have a hard time imagining Liz getting in a ruff over anything._

They were settling down to have dinner, and make plans for their visit out to the site the next day. Katie was putting on a brave face of not being overly concerned, but Sirius noticed she sat closer to Remus than usual and held his hand quietly through most of the meal. _I won't let anything happen to him, Katie, I promise._ But he knew he was also getting nervous and worked up. He'd been having terrible nightmares the past two days, and today he'd stared feeling cold again. And now, the voices were back, very softly, in the back of his mind. He forced himself to relax and ignore them, but he could tell from Remus' worried glances at him that he must be showing the strain on his face. He focused on Liz instead.

"So explain once more how we're going to test these incantations, and keep them confined to a small area."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "With one of us doing the actual spell, and the other two forcing the spell to stay contained, we should be able to test which of the solutions we think it might be without crashing everything at once. If we're right, then we can either see inside and get an idea of what's up, or perhaps even get behind the wards. I'm not sure we'll want to do that just yet, though, as we've no idea if we'll be able to get out of them. They could be set on both sides, and if I were doing that, I would never use the same spell to go back. Not prudent."

Sirius grinned at her. "So it's inside we go then." Liz did laugh at this.

"Not a chance, sorry. I'm far too dull and quiet to be tempted by you, thank you."

__

Oh, is that so? "That sounds like a challenge, Liz. I like challenges, you know." He grinned at Katie, who did manage to smile back, but she turned her gaze back to Remus quickly.

"Remus, don't you dare…."

"Katie, love, not a chance. Not even for old Padfoot. We're just going out for a few hours to do some testing, then coming right home. You know that. I promise." He raised her hand and gave it a kiss. 

Sirius smiled at Liz, who smiled back at him. _She seems to enjoy just seeing how much in love they are, too. If you've got to be in hiding, this is the place for it. I wonder what her husband was like?_ Sirius blinked at that, not sure where the thought had come from. But he recovered and gave her a wink

"Alright, Liz, just a few tests, and no stupid moves. I got it."

"Do you indeed, Sirius? We'll just have to see, won't we?" Even Katie managed a giggle at that.

***

The next day they packed what they needed and ate before setting out. Sirius had been surprised to see Liz show up at breakfast dressed in muggle hiking clothes. He'd become used to seeing her in plain grey robes, but now she wore a loose long sleeved dark green shirt and back trousers. Katie, who tended to prefer muggle clothing herself, was pleased. 

"Liz! Very nice and certainly more practical. And I love the colour of that shirt; it really sets off your hair and eyes nicely."

Sirius noticed that Katie was quite right. It was a very attractive colour on Liz. _Why am I thinking these things? Looking for any excuse to take your mind off worrying once more that you might take Remus out and not bring him back in one piece is it? _Sirius lived with a constant nagging fear that something might happen to Remus while they were off doing things like this. _I could care less if anything happened to himself, but Remus is another matter. _Sirius knew that the constant fret and worry he felt was a lingering effect of all those years he had sat in his cell, thinking about nothing other than how he had lost his friends and destroyed so much. The memories of those feelings came back to haunt him whenever someone he loved was threatened. He'd been reduced to tears by this effect a number of times, like when Harry had nearly been killed by Voldemort after the Tri-wizard Cup fiasco, and when Remus had been forced to spend that horrible night alone with the wolf last spring. As a youth, before all of this, he was so convinced of his own immortality and that of his friends, he had never thought like this. _But we aren't immortal, are we? Now snap out of it. You need to be focused. _He smiled at Liz as she sat next to him and reached for the toast.

"You do look more comfortable."

"Mmmm. My husband and I were great campers in our day. This is actually what I tend to wear most of the time. I just didn't know what it might be like here. Some wizards think it very odd to see someone parading about like this."

"Not here. Katie's parents are muggles, and Remus got used to wearing muggle clothing himself years ago when he spent more time among them. He'll probably come down here looking like you. Come to think of it, maybe I should borrow something from him."

"Help yourself." Remus had just walked in, and Sirius was right. He was wearing tan trousers and a dark grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up. That surprised Sirius, as it revealed a number of scars on his arms. Usually, Remus kept his scars covered, even among his family and intimate friends. _He must be getting used to Liz here, too. I knew she was relaxing _

"It'll be more practical," Remus continued after kissing Katie and taking a cup of tea from her. "In case we come across any muggles_._ The robes tend to make them nervous, you know." He grinned. "Or just think we're nutters. Either way, it attracts attention."

Sirius grinned at him and walked out of the kitchen to go upstairs mugging an insane expression. Katie laughed and slapped him lightly on the arm as he passed. "No amount of clothing can hide the sad fact that our beloved Sirius is a bit daft, I'm afraid."

After he came back dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, they took their packs and apparated into the woods a ways off from where Remus and Sirius had found the wards. They stared walking.

"Very sombre selection, Mr. _Black_." Liz said with a quiet smile.

"This isn't my wardrobe, remember. Take it up with Remus."

They heard Remus laugh ahead of them. "I didn't tell you to match up that pair. You could have taken something else, you know."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Hardly much colour in there, is there? We need to get you some red trousers or a nice shocking pink shirt, the colour of that little sundress Katie loves. You can match."

Remus laughed harder. "Don't mention that sundress. Katie looks at it longingly then rubs her belly and sighs. Bit of a sore point right now."

"She'll be dazzling us again next summer. You be sure to hold the baby, as it will take away from the effect."

Liz was very amused at this exchange and raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "Red trousers and a pink shirt? Not a highly recommended combination."

"He'd needn't wear them at the same time, my dear."

They continued in a pleasant silence for the next half an hour. Sirius actually enjoyed walking through the woods, listening to the various birds, bugs and whatnot. And he always loved being out of doors like this, no matter what the circumstances. _Totally free._ But as they came nearer to the spot, he felt himself tense up again, and felt cold. _Think about what fun it's going to be to have a baby in the house. That should help._

Finally, Remus stopped and put down his pack. Sirius and Liz came up and stood next to him.

"Is this it?" asked Liz, looking forward thoughtfully. Remus nodded.

"Concentrate. You'll just be able to make it out." But Liz shook her head.

"It's alright. I can't see them either," said Sirius. "Remus is the DADA whiz for a reason, you know."

But Remus just busied himself with taking out the things they'd need. For two hours they tested a number of spells and charms, but nothing happened. They all kept a careful eye out to see if anyone was approaching, or if it seemed that they had alerted anyone to their presence. But the wards stayed as firm as ever, and nobody happened along. Sirius started to get frustrated, but noticed that Liz just seemed to take this in stride. _Focused on just solving one more problem, it would seem. Remus seems to be pretty calm too. He won't get upset until we start getting near our "I promise to be home by" deadline, of course._

Finally he heard Liz exhale loudly as she sat on the ground and stared at the air in front of her. 

"These are very interesting. Not a peep from anything we've tried so far. I wonder if it has anything to do with the place. Is this a convergence point?" She looked at Sirius.

"Not exactly. A lay line does pass right under us, but the nearest convergence point is miles away in Cornwall."

"Are there any bodies of water nearby? There has got to be something feeding this, to make it so strong. A large lake or a strong river would be key, I should think."

Sirius looked at Remus. "Are there? I didn't think to look."

"There is a large lake a few miles away, but I didn't think it would be close enough, not after we found the edges of the thing. Unless of course…."

"There's an underground well stream," finished Liz. "We can use that. The wards can't reach underground, and the water can't be restricted. So we can follow the water inside and come out where it hits the surface to feed the wards. Perfect. How will we figure that out? Could we follow the lay line? That should give us a good indication of at least where to try looking."

Remus started packing things away. "Okay, we'll go 'round to the other side that faces the lake, and find where the line is. We'll have a look to see if we can find a well spring underneath, but we will _not_," he said firmly, looking at Sirius, "be going down any caves today. We're not prepared for that. We'll come back if we're right and do it then. Agreed?" _Like I'm going to argue with that tone of voice._

Sirius nodded and stood up. He reached to give Liz a hand and pulled her up next to him. He found himself gazing into her face. _That shirt really does set off those eyes._

He saw her flush a bit, then break his gaze. "Thanks. Shall we?"

They set off after Remus. As he could see the edges of the wards, he made good time in getting them around it and to the other side. Then they took out their wands and started slowly moving forward in the direction of the lake, spaced out a bit, to see if they could sense any moving water. Suddenly Liz stopped and signalled them.

She was standing on some boulders that made up an island of rock in the ground. The woods on this side seemed to have any number of them. She had a look of triumph on her face Sirius recognised as the look she got whenever she'd solved something particularly knotty.

"Right here. Feel it?" They nodded and smiled.

"Right," Liz continued. "Now we've got it, let's follow it until we find an opening and can get down there." _Whoa, Liz. Wrong thing to say; weren't you listening to Remus' tone earlier?_

Remus fixed Liz with a rather stony gaze, but she held up a hand to stop him saying anything. "I meant just find the entrance, not go down. Not today." Remus relaxed, and Sirius had to chuckle at her. 

"I can promise that would not have been very pretty," he said quietly in her ear as they set off again. "See the set in his shoulders right now? Memorise that look. That means think very, very carefully about how you say things. Trust me."

She smiled at him. "Point taken. That didn't come out right just then."

"You'll get used to it," he murmured.

Two hours later, they found a cave entrance near the well spring. Sirius set a marking charm so they could find their way back to the exact spot. As he gazed into the cave, however, he suddenly felt a fresh wave of bitter cold pass over him, and could feel himself start to shake. _Dementors live in caves. What if someone thought to put a few in there? I don't think I can fend them off anymore…_ Suddenly he felt Remus put an arm around his shoulders and pull him back.

"This," he said very softly, "is why I insisted no caves today. I know what you're thinking, and the same thought had occurred to me. I'd certainly make very sure that it wouldn't be easy to get down there. We need to go home, relax, and really concentrate on how we're going to get into the well spring, no matter what they may have done. Alright?" Sirius nodded, then gave him a hug.

"Alright, Remus. No arguments," he responded in a weak sounding voice. He caught Liz's eye over Remus' shoulder. _Must think I'm a bit of a prat…._ But he saw that she wasn't giving him a reproving look at all. She had a thoughtful, even understanding look on her face, and she smiled at him.

Sirius turned from Remus and they all apparated back at the Lupin home. Katie came out to meet them, grinning. "Goodness, five minutes before I get to officially start to fret. Very thoughtful."

Sirius bowed to her as he went into the house, but made no comment. He was feeling ill now, and the voices had started their quiet, screeching, incessant chorus again. He walked up the stairs rather unsteadily, and went to lie down for a few moments. He stared at the ceiling of his room, trying to think about happy things. He could feel the tears slowly crawling down his face and disappearing into his hair. _Happy thoughts. James and Lily's wedding; Remus and Katie's wedding. Harry's first birthday; that was so much fun. Lily couldn't believe I'd give a one-year-old dungbombs as a gift. 'Not even you, Sirius!' She should have known better…._But thinking of Lily just made him more upset. He never, ever wanted to loose the memory of her beautiful face, but right now it was too much. He tried instead to think about the expression on Remus' face when Sirius gave his first-born dungbombs as a birthday present. _I can't wait for this baby. Less than two months now. _He finally felt strong enough to stand up and go take a shower. But as he walked into the bathroom, he was struck that all his happy thoughts were of people in love, and he was alone. _Great. You're going to be wonderful in those caves, aren't you?_

***

He came downstairs to find Katie and Liz sitting at the kitchen table laughing about something. They both gave him rather dangerous looking smiles. _Those expressions usually mean girl talk. Frightening. _But he was feeling better now, though he had seen in the mirror that his expression was still a little pale and his eyes were very dark. He grinned back.

"And what's tonight's topic of conversation? Or is this one of those things I will have no idea about?"

"The baby's been very active today," said Katie in an innocent tone. _Diversionary topic. Fine. Also my favourite topic, so we'll let it go._

"Feeling alright?" he asked, looking at the paper spread out on the table. Sirius looked up as Katie let out a small yelp. "What?"

She just smiled. "Just a good swift kick in the belly. I think the little marauder has a foot up under my rib cage. Definitely vigorous movement from the baby, that's good."

Sirius came over and knelt next to her. "Still the clinical one with this miracle, aren't you. Can I feel?"

She smiled, and took his hand to put it where the baby was moving about. _I love this more than anything. Absolutely incredible. I remember almost passing out the first time I felt Harry move. It was the most extraordinary thing in the world. And this one's definitely active now. Soon._ He smiled at Katie, who was grinning at him.

"Must be rehearsing running from Filch."

"_Please_ leave that poor man alone. I'll be too embarrassed to send the child to Hogwarts knowing what wicked ideas you've given it regarding him!" But Sirius wasn't really listening. The sounds in his head from earlier were dying away completely, and he felt warm again, despite the chill in the early fall air. He stood up, gave Katie a kiss on the forehead, and sat back down at the table next to Liz. Katie stood herself.

"I'm just going to go see Remus. He loves this. Ouch!"

Sirius smiled after her, and then turned to Liz. He thought again what a striking a profile the woman had. _Very strong. And pretty. Oh, stop it, Black! Keep your thoughts focused. The woman has far better things to do with her life than have some affair with a criminal, after all; innocent or not, you aren't free._ He managed a grin and raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's been sitting here telling you horrible stories about me, hasn't she? I deny at least half of it."

Liz laughed and, for the second time that day, flushed a bit. "Katie has nothing but wonderful things to say about you Sirius. Actually, we were talking about various odd husband behaviours. How we can't imagine they lived without us, and the like."

"Oh? Care to share with me?"

She laughed again and shook her head. "No. Sorry. Wife's privilege. Part of our carefully constructed mystique and all that."

Sirius smiled at that. Then he asked softly, "Can I ask what your husband was like? Or is that too forward of me?" 

"No, not at all. Brian was a muggle, and a bit of a 'wild child', actually. You would have liked him, I think. He was always laughing, and he loved life. Believed in living every single moment to the farthest extreme he could push it. Everything fascinated him. He absolutely loved the magical community, too. Thought it was all 'brilliant'." She stopped and looked at him with a shy smile. "He just took my breath away every minute of every day."

Sirius looked at her evenly. "You must miss him terribly."

Liz kept his gaze. "Yes, but it was a while back that I lost him. I've gotten over the shock, the anger, and the sadness of loosing someone you love so much. I'm happily living in the 'always remember the good things and move on' part of it now. So there you are."

__

I know what this feels like. I'm just struggling with finally getting into that last bit. He reached over and took her hand. "That sounds like what he would have wanted."

She finally broke his gaze and gave his hand a squeeze, but she didn't say anything. Then she stood up.

"Shall we do dinner then? Who knows when the baby will settle and Katie will finish all this. Besides, I feel like she's stuck waiting on me. I hate that."

"Alright, good plan."

They finished making the dinner in silence. That night, Sirius slept well, with no nightmares.

****

**** 4 ****

"How's your Patronus charm, Liz?" 

Sirius tried not to shiver as he listened to Remus and Liz speaking quietly by the fire. They had spent the last day and a half planning how to get down into the cave that led to the wellspring, and trying to prepare for whatever measures might have been taken to prevent their doing just that. _Remus is pretty convinced they've put some Dementors down in there. I'm going to have to agree with that. Very nasty and very effective. Bugger._

Sirius stood up as calmly as he could and left the study in search of Katie. He couldn't stand to be in the same room for that little discussion. Katie was in one of the greenhouses, working on some boxes, and singing along with some music that was coming from somewhere, quietly. _This is why I came out here. A very happy, peaceful spot. _But he still felt ill and shifted from one foot to the other nervously fidgeting as he stopped near Katie and leaned a shoulder against one of the struts in the frame. She smiled at him, but went on with her work. _I'm not Remus, Katie. I won't stand here in silence just watching you for hours on end_, he thought with a laugh.

"Good old 'country western', is it?" 

Katie laughed. 

"You've been listening to this for years now. Stop pretending you have no idea what it is. I'm in here by myself, so I can listen to whatever I want to. Or, I was," she said, giving him a smile and reaching to turn off the player. Sirius stopped her.

"No, no Katie-girl. I was just having a little tease. Please, it's nice. Really."

Katie looked at him quietly.

"You've been very quiet the last few days. How are you feeling?" _She not teasing me. No 'that's always dangerous' comments. I must look as bad as I feel._

Sirius shook his head, and looked at some vines growing up a support beam in front of him, listening to the quiet music. Katie stood there for a few moments, then turned and started working on the box again. _She knows I'll come out with it when I'm good and ready. _After a while, Sirius moved and sat down on a bench facing her. She didn't even look up. Finally, he felt he needed to just say anything. _She'll wait me out for the rest of my life if she needs to._

"I feel pretty awful, actually. It comes and goes, you know. Two nights ago I was fine, and I slept wonderfully. Last night…."

"I heard you getting up in the middle of the night, you know. So did Remus. He was concerned, but I told him to leave you alone and go back to sleep."

"Was I that noisy?"

She smiled. "No. The little marauder was keeping me awake so we were sitting up talking. Remus feels guilty if he sleeps and I don't, so he sits up with me. Silly isn't he?"

__

Not one bit. I know exactly what he's doing. 

Sirius looked up at her. "He just loves you so much, Katie. It bothers him anytime you're upset or put out in anyway. This is his way of making it all right for you. Let you know he's right there when you need him. That nothing's ever going to hurt you as long as he can do anything to stop that happening."

Katie gave him an odd look and a sad smile. Then she nodded, and went on. "I finally managed to get to sleep, but I never heard you come back. Did you get any sleep?"

Sirius shook his head and held his face in his hands. He leaned forward and stared at the dirt floor of the greenhouse, resting his elbows on his knees. _I look like hell, too; I saw this morning in the mirror. Couldn't even stand to look at that, so I never bothered to shave. Now I'm a scruffy looking sullen thing. Katie's onto it. It's not just the lack of sleep, it's the fact I didn't shave. She knows I'm obsessive about keeping neat and clean, after spending years covered in filth._

He shuddered a bit at the memory. The filth was the one thing that truly bothered him, that seemed to completely take away any sense of humanity he had had left. He felt foul, and diseased. He would sometimes look at his own hands and think that the filth was slowly taking over; that he was wasting away and the dirt and grime and mould were slowly replacing his skin completely. He was shaking now, staring at the dirt of the greenhouse floor. _We're going to get filthy in those caves._

He knew he was crying softly now, but didn't look up at Katie. She stayed where she was across from him and didn't say anything for a while. Finally, 

"Do you ever talk to Remus about these things, Sirius?"

"You'd know if I had, Katie."

"Not necessarily. Your relationship with Remus is your business. What Remus and I share is nothing like what you and Remus share. You know that. I remember very well when you first came here. Remus brightened up so much when Dumbledore said you were on your way to stay with him, despite what was happening. He was as happy as I had ever seen him. We talked of nothing else for two days, and I knew that whoever you were, you were going to be someone pretty special. When I saw that you obviously cared as much for him, I was thrilled. Remus needed that so much."

"Remus keeps you in a special place in his heart, and I know that there are things he hasn't told me, or wouldn't tell me. I don't mind a bit. I do mind, though, if you are keeping things in that you shouldn't. It'll never get better if you do. Trust me," she said giving him a guilty smile, "I know. Wouldn't you agree?"

Sirius had to give a soft laugh at this and look up at her, but he was still wiping tears away. "Might this have something to do with you and Remus spending four years denying your feelings for each other?"

"Indeed. But as you so rightly pointed out to me, that accomplished nothing, did it? Other than to make us both utterly miserable, of course." She stopped, and absently ran her hands over her stomach while she thought about something.

"Maybe you've talked to Harry about this? I know you and he.…"

"Certainly not! Harry's much to young; and he has enough to live with without listening to me…go on…" But Sirius had to stop. He felt like someone had put a crushing curse on his chest, and could barely breathe. Fresh tears started to form in his eyes, and the horrible cold came back. _I can't think about these things. I need to be strong. Too much is at stake. Too many lives…._ Suddenly, he felt Katie sit next to him and wrap her arms around him. At that, he dissolved into tears, and they sat there for a long while. Katie just held him as he wept and said nothing. Eventually, Sirius regained his composure and slowly pulled back. Katie smiled at him, but he saw that she had been crying too. He wiped a tear from her cheek and stood up.

"I'm going to go shave, Katie."

"Good idea. And Sirius? You know that Remus will never let anything hurt you, either, as long as he can stop it. Same goes for me." She gave him her customary sly grin. "I've grown very fond of you myself, despite my better judgement."

Sirius managed to laugh. "I'm not taking that from you, I know you have questionable taste. You did marry a marauder yourself, Mrs. Lupin."

Katie just laughed and took his hand so he could help her get up and they walked back to the house together.

***

The next day, they focused on finalising how they were going to get into the wellspring. Sirius and Remus had , from their own interesting youths, several experiences exploring caves. But Liz was another matter. Sirius was surprised to hear she knew exactly what she was doing.

"How are you with caves?", asked Sirius as they sat in Remus' study finalising a strategy.

"Bit of a whiz-bang, actually, " Liz replied without looking up from the parchment she was writing on.

"Whiz-bang?" asked Remus. _Thank you, Moony; I was just getting to that._

Liz looked up at them. "My husband was an adventurer. That included climbing, both up mountains and through caves. Mountains I did not like, caves I did."

Sirius made a face. "Why would anyone want to climb up the side of a mountain for no good reason?

Her smile faded and she looked back at the book she was holding. "Because it's there, Sirius; just because it's there."

__

What did I say? Do I apologise? He looked at Remus which a quizzical expression, but Remus just shook his head.

***

Three days later they were ready to go. They had sent Dumbledore an account of everything so far, and told him of their plans to explore the wellspring. He had accepted this, but made it very clear that they were not to get lost or captured in the caves. After finding out what they could see, they were to come directly back and Dumbledore would come discuss what to do next with them. Katie re-read his letter to them three times while they finished packing to leave. _Got it, Katie; got it._

Katie was looking particularly strained that morning. She finally started to cry softly as Remus kissed her goodbye. "Please, I know you're always careful, but I feel particularly dreadful over all this. Don't do anything, _anything_, rash. I've been having terrible dreams and…" She stopped speaking as Remus quietly shushed her. 

Sirius looked at Liz, and then spoke to Katie. "Katie-girl. I promised I'd always bring him back. No matter what. I'm not about to stop doing that." 

"You had better _all _come back, Sirius. With a minimum of damage. It's very bad form to upset pregnant women, you know." She gave him a watery smile. "Now that my dramatics are over, off with you." 

They went into the garden to leave. Sirius felt wretched for scaring Katie like this, even though he knew she understood why they were doing it. He saw Liz give her a hug, and whisper something in her ear. Katie laughed and stepped away from them. _That's what we needed to hear. At least Remus seems to be holding up. It drives him wild when Katie's upset like this._

They apparated in front of the cave, and Sirius stepped up next to Liz.

"What did you say to her? Or is this more 'wife's mystique" stuff I have no business knowing?"

Liz laid a hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze, but just smiled mysteriously and said nothing as the moved past him towards the mouth of the cave. Sirius looked at Remus, who just shook his head. "Don't ask _me_, Padfoot; I've no business knowing it either," he smiled and followed Liz.

They checked to see that nobody was about, then raised their wands for light and entered the cave. It was about seven feet high, and long in length. They walked towards the back, and saw that it turned slightly to the left and seemed to open into a larger chamber. The walls were dry, but they were high up yet. The floor sloped downwards at a low angle, and was covered in leaves that had not been disturbed in a while, Sirius was happy to note. Remus walked in front, carefully watching for any spells on the floor. Liz and Sirius kept an eye on the walls and ceiling, but saw nothing. Finally they rounded the corner and entered the larger chamber.

It was quite a sight. The walls had all sorts of markers, symbols and upside down pentagrams painted on them with what looked suspiciously like dried blood. _That had better be animal blood._ A huge spell circle had been cast at the far end in front of what was obviously a shaft leading down into the caves. A human skull sat dead centre, circled by three dead _foxes? I think that's what they used to be. Disgusting._ There was a musty wet earth odour in the place, which reminded Sirius of his cell at Azkaban. He caught himself. _Don't start thinking about it. Remus is practically always right about these things; there will be Dementors in here, and you can't let Remus and Liz down. Plus everyone else who's depending on this. _He was brought out of this by hearing Remus and Liz chuckle.

"What's so amusing?"

"Sirius, look at all this. Recognise anything?" 

"No, but remember I've been out of practice for a while." Remus shook his head and pointed at the largest pentagram over the entrance to the shaft. _Nice goat._

"You don't recognise anything for a reason; it's nonsense. These are just for show. To scare muggles, I suspect. Not a bad idea, actually. They should deter both muggles and wizards. Muggles would think some lunatic put all this rubbish here and wizards would just think it was muggles just silly." _Well, it is rather nasty looking. The dead foxes add an interesting touch. But no Wizard would use a fox as a protection charm; not strong enough._

"So we just walk right through all these?"

Liz nodded as she lit her wand softly to peer at the ground just inside the entrance to the shaft. "Yes. And there doesn't seem to be anything just here, either. I suspect that the real spells are farther in, just in case a group of muggles feels brave and does come to have a look. One of them bursting into flames would most likely cause the others to get the police, and then the ministry would have wind of this." _Wonderful image._

"Remus, what if it was just lunatic muggles?"

"I doubt that very much, don't you? So what if it is then, anyway? Could be entertaining to run into them," he added with a rather wicked grin. "Let them have a go at thinking their little ceremonies worked."

Sirius had to laugh. "Liz, take note of this. Always remember Mr. So-nice-it-hurts right here has a devilish streak in him. I wasn't responsible for all the detentions, and I want that fact recognised."

"I think Katie already does, but I'll voice my support, too, if it helps."

***

It was slow going down the shaft, as the space became more cramped and the rock walls slicker with ground water. Sirius couldn't help but feel frozen to the bone, and a buzzing had started in his ears he didn't like at all. He tried to just focus on Liz, working her way down in front of him. She was right, she did know how to get about in caves and the small space didn't seem to bother her a bit. Remus started finding spells after about 30 minutes. That slowed them further, as they had to wait for him to break them before going ahead. Sirius was furious with him when he got too close to one and singed his hair when it imploded. But Remus ignored him and still insisted he lead. _Well he has to, doesn't he? Damn it!_

Finally, they reached the end of the shaft, and dropped down into a larger open space. Sirius heard water running in the distance, and looked at Liz with admiration. _Very clever girl. She was right._ Remus made everyone douse their wands for a moment, while he listened for any other movement and checked for any light coming from anywhere. It was totally, completely pitch black. Sirius clamped down on his teeth to stop them chattering, and he shut his eyes to try and make the darkness seem less foreboding. He nearly jumped out of his skin, though, when he felt someone touch his arm. 

"Sorry, Sirius," whispered Liz, very quietly. "Just me." Sirius reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Finally, they heard Remus speaking to them a ways off.

"It's fine, for the moment. Let's get a look at this place," he said quietly and lit his wand. Sirius reluctantly let go of Liz and they illuminated their own wands. He looked at her face in the pale light for a moment. She met his gaze and smiled softly, then moved forward after patting him on the shoulder. Despite everything that was going on at that moment, Sirius smiled to himself and felt more relaxed than he had all day. _You're going down hard, Black._

Suddenly, though, he felt a wave of freezing cold rush though him and his head nearly exploded with noise. Screams, shouts; then he heard Peter, crying out to him in the street that day. _Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?_ He tried to stay standing, to bring his thoughts back into focus, but he couldn't manage it. He caught a vague glimpse of Liz running forward, but then, mercifully, passed out.

He came to feeling himself being held off the cold floor. He opened his eyes and saw that Remus was holding him and muttering some sort of incantation. As soon as he saw Sirius was awake, he handed him a large piece of chocolate, but said nothing. Sirius turned to see Liz kneeling on his other side. He managed a very weak smile.

"Moony is right, yet again, it would seem."

Remus grimaced. "Shut up, Sirius. Just try to stay calm for a bit." Liz said nothing.

"How many were there?"

Remus sighed, then helped Sirius to his feet. "Not going to just take some good advice are you? There were four. They've gone off in that direction," he said, pointing at the far end of the cavern. "So it's probably safe to assume that's where we need to head to as well."

Remus looked very pale and strained, but said nothing else.

Sirius dutifully finished the chocolate, but still felt ill and cold. He didn't say anything but he could tell from the looks on both Remus and Liz's faces that he looked awful too. He just took his wand back from Liz, lit it, and started walking off. He heard Remus and Liz follow him, speaking in low tones.

"Your Patronus is a wolf?"

"Not a chance. That was a dog, actually." 

Sirius stopped and turned to look at Remus, who just smiled vaguely at him and kept walking.

After a few minutes, they noticed a faint glow at the end of the tunnel and immediately stopped and doused their wands. Sirius could hear very faint voices over the ever-strengthening sound of running water. Moving very slowly, so that Remus had time to check very carefully in the near darkness for spells, they continued forward. Finally they came around a slight bend, and saw the entrance to the tunnel. There was a wizard standing there with his back to them. Beyond that, the could see a much larger cavern than the one they had just been in, and a number of people seemed to be moving about. In the middle of the floor, halfway between where they stood and the entrance, was a huge spell circle that covered the entire floor. 

__

That is not the work of any deluded muggle, Sirius thought miserably. _That looks very powerful and very nasty indeed._

They walked without a sound to the edge of the circle. Remus knelt down to study it in more detail while Liz and Sirius kept an eye on the man ahead of them.

"Damn it!" she whispered very quietly but rather harshly. "We're right here! I want to see what they're doing." Sirius looked at Liz with some surprise. This was the first time he'd ever heard her voice with even a hint of frustration. _Well, it's been a long day_. He said nothing but nodded at her.

"We could use the Imperious Curse and bring that man over here. Remus and yourself together should be…."

"No!" hissed Sirius

"But he can tell us…."

"If one of the people guarding this spot goes missing, they'll know we were here, Liz. And it was difficult enough to get this far. Imagine what it would be like if they were really looking for us." _And if this backfires, and we get captured….Not going to happen. Don't let your mind drift, Black. You're in bad enough shape as it is. _He was starting to tremble slightly from the cold and exhaustion he felt. His jaw ached from him clenching his teeth so they wouldn't chatter. The voices never quite died down from the encounter with the Dementors. He was glad it was so dark he couldn't see how much they were covered in mud and grime. _That would make it worse._

He glanced at Remus studying the spell on the floor. Sirius recognised some of the symbols, but couldn't make out the full markings. Liz knelt down next to Remus and they both studied the spell in silence, while Sirius kept and eye on both the wizard at the end of the corridor, and the Death Eaters in the distance. Luckily the man at the entrance to the tunnel seemed far more absorbed in watching the action in the cavern than paying much attention to anything that might be behind him. Finally Sirius felt Remus stand up next to him. _He looks thoroughly frustrated_. _I guess that this is it for now._

"Sirius, we can't cross this. Let's get out of here now. We haven't been here that long, so I suspect the Dementors aren't back yet, so we won't have to deal with them again." Sirius just took a deep breath as Remus knelt back down and seemed to be muttering something to Liz. She waved her wand over the circle, then they stood up to leave. With a final glare at the man at the entrance, Liz turned to go. Sirius reached out and just took her hand, and they walked on together in silence.

When they finally got out of the caves, it was pitch black outside. Sirius looked at Remus who gave him a worried glance and apparated so fast Liz jumped. Sirius chuckled at her.

"Liz, it's the middle of the night. Katie, though always the brave and understanding trooper, is going to be in a state. Well, a state for her. Most people would register it simply as annoyance."

Liz smiled at him. "Of course; I should have realised. They're really a wonderful pair. Not too many couples truly love each other that deeply, you know."

He nodded. He suddenly felt like asking her if she and her husband were like that. _The way she talks about him, it would seem so. How terrible for her to have lost that._ But he stopped himself thinking that this would be a very inappropriate thing to say. Instead, he just said that they should leave themselves, and they apparated back at the Lupin's home without another word. He was exhausted and still felt ill, but realised that he wasn't as bad off as he thought he might be. He looked at Liz, disappearing into her room at the end of the hall. She looked back and caught his eye.

"Good night, Sirius. Try and sleep well."

"I will. Good night." _I think I might do just that._

***

The next day Dumbledore arrived after breakfast and, much to Sirius' astonishment, brought Snape with him. Sirius wasn't as openly hostile with Snape any longer, after what he'd done following the time Peter had broken into Remus' house and nearly frightened Katie to death last spring. He was also aware that Snape was trying to actually find out where Peter was now, but Peter was proving very illusive. _Just putting off the inevitable. He's not going to get away with what he did._

Liz was startled to see Snape, but she greeted him rather warmly. 

"Professor! How have you been?"

"Well, thank you, Mrs. Godine. And yourself?"

Liz smiled. "Yesterday was a rather long day, but other than that, quite well." She saw Sirius looking at her. "I was a seventh year the first year Professor Snape taught potions at Hogwarts. I think he despaired for most of us."

Snape smiled thinly. "You did mange to pass with reasonable marks, as I recall."

"No thanks to Tobette, bless her."

"Yes. Miss Houghton had no talent for potions whatsoever."

They all went into Remus' study and recounted what they had done and seen. When they got to the description of the spell circle at the end of the tunnel, however, Liz took a large piece of parchment and waved her wand across it, muttering under her breath. Suddenly, the details of the circle burned into the paper. Sirius raised his eyebrows at this and looked at her. She smiled.

"What do you think?" she said under her breath as the others leaned over the parchment to study it.

"I'm very impressed. How'd you do that?"

"Bit of dark magic, I'm afraid. Like taking a soul print, you know."

"Naughty but for a good purpose. I can relate to that," he smiled, winking at her. She just grinned and turned back to the others. Remus was explaining what he made of the markings to Dumbledore and Snape.

"This is a personalised spell. There's no way to safely break it or get across it without knowing exactly what's mixed in with the ashes. And of course we couldn't touch it to get a sample, and I'm afraid the shadow spell Liz used to at least get this can't tell us what it's made of."

Dumbledore nodded, and smiled at Remus. "Right again, as per usual Mr. Lupin."

Remus grinned. "Thank you, Headmaster. I did pay some attention in class, you know."

Snape gave him a dry look, but turned to Liz.

"When you cast the shadow spell did you sense anything?" 

"All I can say is that it is very strong and very dark. It was no ordinary Death Eater who cast this. And there is blood in there." Sirius didn't even want to know how she knew this.

Dumbledore looked at Snape. "The question is, Severus, how are we going to find out who cast this. And how might we possibly decipher what ingredients they used? We will have to have the original materials to counter-act the effects. There is fire, here, and earth. Interesting. No water, however. Very interesting."

Snape looked at the circle again. "Mrs. Godine is correct. There are only a small number of wizards who could handle this type of incantation. It's very dangerous indeed. It will take me some time, however, to determine exactly who did this and how. I have heard nothing of this place Lupin and Black found, so I suspect that it is a well-hidden secret even among the Death Eaters themselves. It may be," he looked at Remus now, "that they are trying to prepare a place for Voldemort to come back to. He is, without a doubt, still abroad. Still lying very low trying to discredit all the rumours about himself. He will need a place like this to return to, now that he's corporeal again. He can't hide that sense of presence like he could as a shadow, or whatever was left of him."

Dumbledore sighed, and sat down at the desk. Sirius thought he looked very sad and very old all of a sudden. 

"I believe you are right, Severus. Please be very, very careful in this. We are fortunate so far that nobody seems to have discovered that there were people down there. Remus, Sirius and Liz were not followed back here, we know. But, I think that no one should go back to that place until we know more about this. Stay clear of it, and wait until Severus returns with news for us. Agreed?"

Sirius had to agree that this was best, even though it now meant that they would have to sit there doing nothing, knowing that all this was happening. He nodded grimly.

"Good. Now, Remus, might I have a word with Katie? I haven't had an opportunity to see her in a while, you know."

***

Several weeks crawled by. Between waiting for the imminent arrival of the baby and waiting for word from Snape, Sirius and Remus worked up more nervous energy between them than they thought possible. Katie commented that it could have powered the Eastern Seaboard for a week, but Sirius had no idea what that meant. They occupied themselves with further research on ward breaking spells and busywork for the League. Liz focused on perfecting her Patronus charm and memorising any number of obscure and complex incantations relating to protection charms. She had commented that maybe she should go home for a bit, while nothing was happening, but Sirius found himself protesting this vehemently.

"Nonsense. We need you here. We're not finished, and who knows when Snape will turn back up! I won't allow it. You stay right here where you belong."

Sirius noticed Remus looking at him with a rather amused expression, but he only glanced at Katie and went back to what he was doing. _What?_ But Liz had stayed.

One night when they were all in the front room their conversation turned to reminiscing about Hogwarts. Sirius and Remus were very fidgety that evening because Katie had started having what she called 'pangs' the day before, but she insisted that these 'pangs' were going to go on for a while or they were just a false alarm. _So she's carefully_ _distracted us from fussing with a favourite topic. I hope Remus has realised that we're both completely under her control now. _Katie loved hearing about what Remus and Sirius had been up to from an impartial third party, and shushed them repeatedly when they tried to interrupt.

"Hush. I find it more interesting to see how you two clots _were _received than to hear how you _thought _you were perceived." She gave Remus a good-natured dig in the ribs, and turned back to Liz.

"Harry asked me in his last letter if I ever found out about what happened when 'the Marauders' graduated. Seems he, Ron and Hermione are on tender hooks waiting for details. He threatened to ask Dumbledore." Remus chuckled at that and looked at Sirius.

"Well?"

"No, no, not you two. I want to hear what Liz has to say. I don't need some overly dramatic account of how you defied death to bung up the lavs again."

"We never touched the toilets, Katie-girl. We were much to sophisticated for that."

"I'll tell Liz the story about the spider and the Divinations final if you don't shut up, Padfoot," she said evenly.

"Ouch; Moony, do try and control your wife, won't you?"

"You're the one who gave the details of that incident, Padfoot."

Sirius sighed dramatically. "I told that story to Harry. That was my first great lesson in what Harry knows, so shall Ron and _Hermione_ know, and that means Katie gets wind of it. The boy has been warned."

"Don't you dare speak ill of Hermione, or I shall waddle over there and smack you," giggled Katie.

Remus grinned. "Just tell Ron that Sirius has been taking her name in vain. That could be interesting."

Katie laughed. "Only once Ron actually faces up to the fact that he's madly in love with her. Weren't teenage hormones fabulous, Liz?"

"Yes. Lovely things. Quite a few Ravenclaw ones were focused on Sirius, actually. Remus attracted a fair number too, as I recall." She laughed as both men flushed. Sirius found himself thinking about what a wonderful laugh it was. _There's some hormones now._

"Details, woman, details. Graduation, let's hear it." encouraged Katie.

Liz looked at Sirius with an amused expression, but he just winked at her. _Go on. It was rather grand._

"James Potter gave the graduation address, as I'm sure you probably know, since he was Head Boy. Everything was very dignified. Dumbledore speaking of great futures, asking us to all stand tall against everything that was happening," Sirius felt himself wince a bit, but he smiled at Liz when she caught his eye. She smiled back and went on. 

"Anyway, it seemed to go on and on. I missed most of it, due to a terminal lack of attention. I did notice," she said, looking slyly at Sirius, "my two best friends, Helen and Tobette, sigh rather loudly when Sirius was called to get his diploma." Sirius just winked.

"So, finally, we were getting ready to end it. All that remained was James Potter's address, then we were, blissfully, free. At first, none of us noticed what was happening. Then I noticed that the walls seemed to be, well, moving. Startled, I looked over more closely. Sure enough, it seemed that vines were growing up the walls in the great hall. Every inch of the hall. James just kept speaking in an even tone," _His "I'm up to no good but I dare you to prove it" tone_. Sirius grinned at Remus, who looked like he had the same thought.

"All of a sudden, everyone seemed to notice that the walls were alive. We all turned to stare, and then…" she smiled at Sirius and Remus. "The vines burst into bloom. The great hall became a sea of flowers. Beautiful, perfect lilies. It remains to this day the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Was that his proposal?" she asked, looking at Sirius. He shook his head.

"Not exactly. But it was his declaration of intent, as it were. The proposal itself was far more traditional and small scale." He saw Katie lean up to kiss Remus out of the corner of his eye as he said this. _Remus did go all out, however. _Katie turned to Sirius.

"I apologise for thinking that this was going to be another story that would keep me up at nights. That was wonderful…"

Katie stopped talking in mid sentence, with an odd look on her face. She seemed to be in pain. Remus immediately tightened his embrace.

"Katie, love, what is it?"

She let out a deep breath. Then she beamed at him.

"Please, go get Mrs. Noyes. Right now."

Sirius leapt to his feet with a whoop. "I'll do it! I'll get her! It's time, isn't it?"

"Definitely." Katie smiled at Remus, who grinned back at her, but Sirius could see that tears were forming in his eyes. _This is going to be a long, long night, I think. He might just finally explode from all of this._

Liz went over to Katie and Remus to help Katie get up. Katie stopped for a second as she caught her breath again. Remus was obviously frightened and ecstatic at the same time.

"Not just pangs? This is it? Isn't this early? I mean…."

Liz cut him off. "Babies rarely make their entrance on the exact day we think they might, Remus. My nephew was born spot on the day he was predicted and everyone practically died from the shock. Except Brian. He'd put his money on that day, and everyone thought he was bonkers at the time…." They walked out and Sirius went to the fire and into Mrs. Noyes' shop. _She better be in._

Mrs. Noyes was there, speaking to three people standing near the door. She looked absolutely stunned when Sirius came out of the back room. _Oops. Hadn't thought of this. Better get out quickly._ He just leaned towards her, bowed, wiggled his eyebrows, and left again immediately. _That'll be fun to see how that's explained. God, I hope those weren't muggles._ He ran to Katie and Remus' room on the third floor. Remus seemed very surprised at his speedy reappearance.

"Haven't you gone yet? What's wrong with you? We…."

"Stop right there. The message has been delivered. She'll be here very soon, I promise. Katie-girl, what do we need to do for you?"

"Go downstairs and wait, thank you. Really Sirius, that's it. Thank you Liz…." She said as Liz propped her up on another pillow. Another wave of pain showed on her face. "Mrs. Noyes better get here soon," she said, through clenched teeth. "Seems the little marauder is suddenly rather eager to start on its Filch-pestering lessons." _Well at least she's still joking. _

Sirius went to Remus and gave him a tight hug, then kissed Katie on her forehead. "Okay, we're off," he said, taking Liz's hand. "I'll send Mrs. Noyes up…."

But Mrs. Noyes had just walked in.

"Sirius Black! I can't believe you just did that, honestly!"

Sirius grinned and edged to the door, leading Liz with him. "Sorry. Muggles were they?"

Remus shot him a dangerous look.

"Yes. Now they think I have some lunatic in the back room. Get out; I'll deal with you later."

Sirius winked at Liz, and shut the door behind them. He kept hold of her hand as they walked back down to the entry hall. Sirius led her down to his study to wait. He started a fire, then finally let go of her hand as he sat her in one of the large chairs. _I'm going to start climbing the walls soon. Waiting for Harry was one of the longest days of my life. At least this time I don't have to work, too._

Liz hadn't said anything, but was smiling at him. He grinned and pulled the second chair close to her by the fire.

"It's a little cold yet, but I just wanted to be in here. Not that you have to stay…." He was suddenly struck that he'd just sort of assumed Liz would stay with him. But he was pleased to see that she smiled, and then quietly thrilled when she reached over to take his hand again.

"I'm fine. Of course you want to be here." She looked up at a picture of Sirius and Harry on the mantle, sitting next to a picture of James, Sirius and Remus from their last year at Hogwarts. _She's getting to know me as well as Katie…._

Liz looked at him again. _Goodness but she's beautiful. I can't pretend not to notice anymore. _

"What was it like waiting for Harry?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Horrifying, actually. James left our office in a cold panic when he got the owl, and Remus and I had to sit there, all day, trying desperately to focus. Some of our worst work ever. It's easy to distract me, but it's quite an accomplishment to distract Remus. Our boss was so surprised to see him make such a mess of things she let it go, and figured we needed a rest. At least when she excused us we could stop pretending we were calm, and raced over to James and Lily's house. We got there a few minutes after he was born. Lily absolutely glowed, despite everything she'd just been through. But James showed Harry to us and I'm afraid the three of us just burst into tears. At least we kept Lily entertained. Now at least I'm just thrilled, not scared to death. I don't make any promises that I won't blub though. It's probably a safe bet that I will." _Actually, I feel like crying now._

Liz laughed quietly. "I'll do my fair share, too, I suspect. Babies make me rather sentimental."

"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"

She just nodded, then focused on the fire. They sat there in silence, holding hands and just lost in their own thoughts. _I think I finally understand why one of Remus' favourite pastimes is just sitting there with Katie. Maybe James and Lily were like this too, I can't remember. _He thought of Remus and Katie now. _All the best. Hope it doesn't hurt either of you too much. Remus; this is so beyond wonderful for you. Everyone who ever loved you dreamed of this for you. If your mum and dad…._ He had to stop himself there. But Liz sensed him tensing suddenly and leaned over towards him, squeezing his hand.

"What is it? Katie's going to be fine, I have no doubts."

Sirius shook his head. Then he slowly raised her hand and kissed the back of it. "I was just wishing," he said in a whisper, "that the Lupins could be here. Remus' parents. They loved him more than anything on this earth, and wanted only the best for him. It was so hard. Remus has been through so much, seen so much hatred and been treated so horribly…." But she reached out and placed a finger to his lips to stop him. It felt like an electric shock going through him, and he looked at her with surprise.

"I think," she responded in a whisper herself, "that there is enough joy in this house right now that they feel it, no matter where they are, don't you?"

Sirius stared at her. Then he stood up, pulling her with him, and wrapped his arms around her. They stood there for a long time, until finally Sirius pulled back, and, taking her hand again, led her to the couch. He just lay down, and she curled up next to him. They stared at the fire for a long time, until they both drifted off to sleep.

They were woken up by the sound of someone running down the stairs, and calling out Sirius' name. They sat up just as Remus threw open the door of the study. He was smiling more happily than Sirius had ever seen him, though he looked exhausted.

"A son, Sirius. Come and see."

Sirius grabbed Liz's hand again and the three of them raced up the stairs. Remus stopped them just before they opened the door of the bedroom, though, and put a finger to his lips. Then he opened the door. Katie was fast asleep, but looked happy anyway. Mrs. Noyes was standing by the windows, holding the baby. Quietly they went over, and Remus took the baby from her, and turned to Sirius. 

"Malcolm. Malcolm Edmund Lupin." 

He was pink, and perfect, and Sirius dissolved into tears. He took Malcolm in his arms and looked at Liz.

"Told you I was going to blub." But she just smiled through her own tears at him.


	2. Veritas 5- 7

****

Veritas 5- 7

Parts 5 through 7 of **Veritas. **Sirius & Remus get inside of Malfoy's house….

****

***** 5 *****

For the next week, nobody in the Lupin's house minded a bit that they couldn't pursue the problem of the mysterious Death Eater camp. All attention was focused on Malcolm, and he was a very happy diversion. Remus rarely even let go of him, and only surrendered him to Katie or Sirius when begged to. Sirius spent many happy hours curled up in one of the big overstuffed chairs in the front room watching Malcolm as he slept in his arms. _Just like I used to with Harry. Work, eat, sleep, hold Harry. My agenda for about 3 months I think. We are going to make certain that things are very grand for you, Malcolm. I promise._

Dumbledore sent very warm congratulations and apologised for not being able to get free just yet to meet young Master Lupin. Harry, Ron and Hermione also sent congratulations in a letter filled with strong hints that maybe it might be possible to come for a few days during the New Year break, if someone suggested to Dumbledore that this would be a good thing. Remus had laughed over this and Katie had sent a letter off to Dumbledore immediately to see if it might be arranged.

Sirius sat with Liz working quietly in the living room one morning. Katie and Remus had gone for a walk, taking Malcolm with them. Sirius smiled to himself thinking about how he had been told off soundly by Katie when he asked, for the third time, if Malcolm was going to be warm enough. _Sirius, if you turn into a fishwife over this, we are going to have issues._ It had become much colder over the past few days, and the sky had started to turn grey. _Looks like November is going to start with some snow. Great. Another winter freezing to death watching Death Eaters mill about._ He gave an involuntary shudder at the thought.

Liz saw that and stopped what she was doing.

"Alright, then?"

Sirius smiled at her. He was pretty sure that his lingering issues from his experiences in Azkaban were one of Katie and Liz's 'secret conversations' topics. But he didn't mind, not since he had decided he was defiantly falling in love with Liz. It was a relief, actually, to know she understood that part of him, and she didn't seem to be put off by it. Quite the contrary; it seemed she had become a little protective. _That's got to be good, right? Maybe there's a chance here. Or maybe she just feels sorry for me._

"I'm fine, Liz. Just thinking that it might start to snow soon and remembering that Moony and I spent more time than we cared to sitting in the snow last year. Looks like we've got the same thing ahead of us now."

"Now I feel like shuddering. Ugh."

Sirius laughed and went back to finishing the crossword. As he pondered one of the questions, his eyes caught the date on the top of the page. _October 29th. 2 days before the Lupins hit year one. _Suddenly he had an idea.

"Liz? I know you cannot possibly divulge any feminine mystique or risk getting drummed out of the club," she grinned at him, "but can you address direct questions?"

"Maybe. Depends on the question, doesn't it?"

"Remus and Katie's anniversary is the day after tomorrow. What say you and I clear out for a few days and let them have the place to themselves. Think Katie would like that, or and I treading dangerously near the "if I hear you moan you're intruding one more time Sirius you will regret it" line? I think Remus would like a little quiet time with just Katie and Malcolm."

"I think that's a great idea. Provided, of course, I'm allowed to go home now." She winked at Sirius.

"Yes. But only for two days. Don't make me come and get you, it won't be pretty."

"Where will you go then?"

Sirius had figured he would go to Hogsmead. It would be cold, but he'd be able to spend time with Harry. But they had never told Liz about his being an animagus. Suddenly he felt very guilty about that. _But very few people actually know this part, do they?_ Even some of the small handful of people that accepted Sirius' innocence didn't know the whole story; they had just accepted Dumbledore's word and asked nothing. _How do you just blurt this one out? And I don't think she'd be pleased to hear that I'm off to live as a dog for a few days in a cave so I can visit my godson. Well, she'd understand the last part…._

"Just somewhere to do a little visiting."

"Now who's being mysterious?"

He was spared having to respond when he saw an owl come up to the window. He let it in and took a letter addressed to himself. It was from Dumbledore. He scanned it quickly, scowled, then read it outloud to Liz.

Sirius-

I am addressing this to you as I wish not to disturb Remus just yet. You will of course have to share with him and Liz the contents of this letter, but I think it will be better if you have a conversation with Remus when you feel the time is right. I hope that young Malcolm is doing very well indeed. Minerva and I do look forward to having him here when the time comes.

Severus believes he has indeed identified who cast the spell in the wellspring, but he is waiting for confirmation on something so he will not name any names just yet. There has also been a rather disturbing incident between some of the Aurors and a pair of Death Eaters. This incident was severe enough that Fudge has contacted me to discuss the matter. 

Arthur Weasley has confirmed that Fudge had, in a private meeting, told him that unofficially the Ministry was reconsidering our insistence that Voldemort had regained his corporeal form. Apparently some of the Ministry wizards have finally figured out how such a feat might be accomplished.

I have expressed to Severus that I feel urgency is now paramount. With Death Eaters becoming bolder in their activities, and the lingering issue of what is hidden behind the wards, I feel that Voldemort will indeed be returning shortly. 

On a happier note; I will allow Mr. Potter to come visit for a few days after the New Year. I am certain that the Grangers and the Weasleys will also allow Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley to join you, but you best ask them directly.

Give my best wishes to everyone there, won't you? I'll contact you as soon as Severus confirms who our mysterious spell caster is.

Albus 

Sirius looked at Liz. "This is all going to get very interesting if the Ministry does publicly confirm Dumbledore's statement, you know. It'll probably mean that Voldemort will come back immediately."

Liz pondered this. "So the question becomes does the Ministry buy more time by continuing to deny everything, or do they say something as soon as possible and try to force Voldemort and the Death Eaters into an open confrontation before they've finished their plans, correct?"

"Correct. I'm not sure which option is worse. We're ready, in the League, but that's still a small group. I doubt very much others will be. The shock alone could cause a panic, and that achieves nothing but giving the Death Eaters the advantage. Fear is a great leverage to have."

"I remember last time. Everyone was so frightened all the time. I can remember walking around most of the time in a daze unable to think, or rather, unwilling to think, about what might happen to us all. When it finally…ended…I was exhausted. I withdrew a bit from everything. I spent more time in the muggle community, where nobody seemed to have ever heard of Voldemort or understood what almost happened. It was soothing."

Sirius watched her quietly. Finally he asked, "Is that when you met your husband?"

She gave him a sad smile. "Yes. Brian was exactly what I needed. Such a happy, carefree man. So much fun, and not bothered by a thing. Actually, even if he had known about Voldemort, I doubt it would have dampened his spirits at all. He'd have just charged ahead and probably tried to bring him down with his bare hands. Brian might have actually pulled that one off, come to think of it."

Sirius laughed and Liz grinned. 

"He lived in this disaster of a flat with his best friend Callum. What a pair they were. Make you and Remus look like alter boys."

"Callum? I've never heard that name."

"Actually it's a form of Malcolm, you know. Irish Gaelic, I think. At least, Callum's Irish, so I might be jumping to conclusions."

"I think I prefer Malcolm, thank you."

"It is lovely. But you're a bit biased here, aren't you?" she laughed.

Sirius winked. "Absolutely. Got a better name in mind yourself, do you?"

"I've always been partial to 'Griffin', actually."

"Griffin? That's a thing, not a boy, Liz."

Liz laughed and stood up. "Says the man named for the Dog Star."

Sirius followed her to the kitchen. "That was my parent's fault, obviously. I think they were seeking revenge on me early, knowing exactly what was in store for them. Mum was excellent at divination, you know. Well, as good as anyone gets with that drivel."

He set his cup in the sink and sighed as he looked out the window.

"I'm sure Malcolm's still warm enough, Sirius." He looked to see Liz had come to stand next to him closely by the window. Without thinking he put his arm around her shoulders.

"I wasn't thinking that. I was thinking our nice little anniversary gift is a no go now. But now I am thinking it, thanks." She laughed, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she turned to go. Sirius stared after her, not sure if he was stunned or thrilled. She was so reserved; he hadn't expected her to do anything like that. _But I'm very glad she did. She's also very comfortable with who she is. I'll take this as a very, very good sign. _

***

Two days later, Remus tracked Sirius down in his study in the early afternoon.

"Padfoot? Busy?"

Sirius smiled and set down the book he was reading. "Not particularly. Wait, something's missing. Oh yes, you seem to have lost that infant permanently attached to yourself."

Remus chuckled and sat down across from him in front of the fire. "You should talk. Katie and Liz are playing with him in the kitchen."

"Bit young for playing yet, isn't he?"

"Well they're in there babbling at him. I'll allow it for one year, then no more nonsense talk. If they turn Malcolm into a weed I shall be most upset." Sirius had to laugh at this.

"Katie and Liz are probably already teaching him basic arithmancy. It just sounds like babbling 'cause you're not listening closely."

Remus grinned at him. "Point taken. Now, I have a favour to ask, but I think you'll be very happy to do it."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "It better involve the baby or I shall suddenly become very busy and tell you to shove off."

"Lucky for me, it seems, it does. Would you mind looking after him this evening? I wanted to take Katie out for our anniversary. Just down the village…."

"Absolutely. Feeling very spry for a day after the full moon, aren't you? Excellent. Leaving now?" Remus laughed and stood up.

"No. Sorry. About 6, actually. My spry self is actually going to go take a nap so I don't embarrass my wife by falling asleep in my dinner plate. By the way, I just got a letter from the Grangers. I do love when the mailman actually comes out here, you know. He always looks so stunned that we're getting any mail at all. Hermione's allowed to come down as well, so that's all of us."

"Should be a wonderful New Year, then. The place will be filled to the brims. I think Liz is looking forward to meeting Hermione in particular."

Remus gave him a very amused look. "Yes. It'll be fun having us all together, won't it?" Then he left.

***

Remus and Katie left shortly after it got dark. Katie fussed a little bit, not letting go of Malcolm until they were absolutely going to be late if she didn't get a move on. But when she handed him to Liz, and walked out the door with Remus, she looked very relaxed and happy.

"Doesn't trust me a bit, does she my little marauder?" laughed Sirius, giving the baby a finger to grab. Liz laughed at him.

"Of course she trusts you, Sirius. She's got new mother separation anxiety. This is the first time she's been away from him. Very common. It's been nicely tempered though with getting some quality romantic time with Remus, and fitting back into that lovely dress she had on."

"More mystique I have no business knowing?"

"Mr. Black, if you had no business knowing it, I wouldn't have explained it, now would I?"

"I can't win, Malcolm. Neither will you, so get used to it."

They spent a quiet evening amusing themselves with Malcolm until it was time to put him to bed. Once he settled down, they went back to the front room together. Sirius felt more happy and relaxed than he had in years. _It's not just Malcolm that put me in such a mood, I know it._ They went back down to the front room and settled into the chairs facing each other in front of the fire. Sirius just sat there feeling good. Liz was reading yet another book on rather nasty charms. Finally she turned to Sirius and started to say something, but he held up a hand.

"Liz, don't you dare talk shop at me. This is the most wonderful, peaceful evening I've spent in ages. I don't want to think about anything but future baby gifts, Quiddich results, and what an incredible dinner you made."

She flushed at this and hesitated a moment before she spoke again. "Thank you. I wasn't going to talk shop, actually."

Sirius grinned at her, leaning his head on his propped up arm as he slouched in the chair. _She looks so nice like that, all curled up with her legs tucked in, and her hair down. Wait I just noticed that. She almost never wears her hair down. She should more often, I think._

"Good. What is it then?"

She looked away, still a bit flushed. "Actually, I think I've forgotten now."

Her gaze wandered over to the French doors and she looked at the garden for a few moments. Then she turned back to Sirius with a shy smile.

"If I dress warmly, will you let me go out into the garden? I suspect it's rather lovely in the moonlight. All those white mums should glow nicely, I should think."

Sirius gazed at her quietly for a few moments. _Only if you take me with you, Mrs. Godine._ "I think I can live with that. Provided of course, I escort you and make sure you don't in fact get too cold. Can't have any flu show up on my watch, you know."

Liz stood up and went into the entry hall, calling after her, "You're not baby sitting me, you know. I'm a little beyond that." Sirius ran upstairs once more to check that Malcolm was still quietly sleeping away, and then joined Liz outside.

"This garden is so beautiful. Their wedding must have been lovely."

"Absolutely. Of course I blubbed through the end of it, but the first bit was very nice. Everyone thinks I'm this maniac murderer but the truth is I'm just an utter weed."

Liz faced him. "Sirius, both of those statements are untrue, and you know it. I never want to hear you say anything like that again." Sirius stared at her. _She got that tone from Remus, I think. She has been here a while. Of course, you're the one who demanded she stay. And you know exactly why._

"Right. Sorry," he said softly. "Just joking, you know."

Liz sighed. "I don't see how you can joke about it. But I also understand how you feel you must."

__

This is not a safe topic of conversation. Not if I don't want to ruin my perfect night.

"I'll behave Mrs. Godine; I promise." She laughed at this and stepped closer to him. Her eyes were very bright now, and he could feel his own heart beat seem to pick up slightly. _Please, let this really be happening. It's a lot to ask, but this one is very special._

"You've never asked me my maiden name, you know." She now had a sly, amused expression that thrilled him. _Battle of wits, is it? Lead on._

"No, actually. What is it?"

She grinned at him. "Harker," she said, in a knowing tone of voice.

__

Harker. Familiar sounding, but rather common. But there's something up. Do I know any Harkers? Sirius thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered the last Harker he'd met. 

__

Oh. No. Certainly not. It can't be….she's a Ravenclaw, Alasta was a Griffindor. Families…. Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions. Maybe she's just teasing me because she knows exactly what bell that name would ring. I'll risk it.

"I knew a Harker in my year actually…." He said in the most casual tone he could muster.

"My cousin," she responded in an even tone, but her eyes were still twinkling merrily.

__

Bugger. No wonder she knew all about the time we lost the map…..

"Ah. Is this why you were so kind as to not share the tale of the Quiddich Cup incident with Katie?" 

He tried to sound dignified, but he felt himself grinning and heard the laughter in his own voice. "Know everything that happened the night, do you?"

"Mmmm. Every sordid little detail, Mr. Black."

"Your cousin shared that with you? Well, how nice to be such good friends…."

"Mmmm." She was still smiling though. _That's it. This little game is over._ He smiled at her and stepped closer.

"I'm glad you don't seem to mind my rather colourful past, Liz. As I think I'm starting to fall in love with you, it could be difficult." She stepped forward herself to almost close the space between them.

"Well, I know I'm in love with you, so obviously I don't care a jot."

"Are you really?"

"Absolutely." She paused a moment, then her smile took on a wicked shine. "Good thing it's impossible to tell my cousin about this, don't you think?" Sirius reached out and took her in his arms.

"Just don't ever tell Katie about that night. Please. Remus is innocent; well, mostly innocent, but she'd never, ever let me hear the end of it. And I might loose baby-sitting privileges. That would definitely put a damper on this love I'm _absolutely _starting to feel for you."

"Mums the word, then," she smiled, and kissed him.

After a few minutes, Sirius reluctantly drew back from her. "We're still on watch, you know. Better go inside."

They walked back into the house hand in hand. Just as they had taken off their cloaks, Katie popped her head around the door. "We're back. Thanks. Good night!" she said, and left just as quickly as she appeared. Sirius looked at Liz with some surprise.

"She looked very amused, didn't she?"

"I think we've been spotted, Mr. Black."

"Oh. Well. Hadn't thought of that." He grinned at her, then gave her another kiss. "Think we'll get in trouble for snogging in the garden?"

Liz giggled against his mouth. "I doubt that highly. They do it all the time, don't they?"

"Excellent point, Miss _Harker._ How long have you been waiting to tell me that, then?"

"I wasn't. Not 'till I fell in love with you. Then I found I couldn't wait to see your expression," she said in an amused voice.

"Was my reaction suitable?"

"Very acceptable, thank you. Let's call it a night, shall we? We can talk about it again in the morning."

They walked upstairs and Liz kissed him again before she went to her room. "Sleep well, Sirius."

"Tonight I think I'll sleep better than I have in years."

***

The next day, Sirius woke up rather late. _Well, I did sleep better than I have in a long time._ He lay there for a while, listening to the sounds of the garden and the house. It was very peaceful. He couldn't help thinking that it could all change in an instant, but the thought didn't fill him with dread quite like it used to. _I'm not letting anyone take this without a hell of a fight._

He got up, and when he made it downstairs he found that Katie and Liz seemed to have gone off somewhere. He went to find Remus, who was working in his study. He looked up when Sirius entered.

"Good morning," he said in a very casual tone. "Glad to see your sleeping habits have improved. You missed breakfast so just scrounge a bit. Katie and Liz have taken Malcolm to see Mrs. Noyes."

Sirius opted for flopping down heavily on Remus' couch and staring out the window. He listened to Remus working on something for a bit before he finally spoke.

"Remus, this garden is just so stunning. I think I'm starting to appreciate it on a whole new level. Not bad for the bane of the herbology department, eh?"

"Yes; Katie and I did happen to notice both you _and_ Liz appreciating how particularly attractive it is in the moonlight. So, what were you up to in my stunning garden?"

"Do you need to know, or do you want to know?" asked Sirius with a grin.

Remus laughed, and but down his quill. "Sirius, since we were 11 years old I have never really _wanted _to know what you were up to, but I have always found it best to _need _to know what you were up to. Out with it."

"I'm in love with the woman, Remus. Surely you, our best and brightest, could have guessed that."

"I had, actually. And Liz?"

"Finds me rather wonderful herself. Can't blame her, can you?" He grinned again at Remus

But Remus smiled warmly at him and shook his head. "Really in love Sirius, or just attracted to?"

"Really in love. It's a rather frightening feeling, isn't it?"

"It's worth it."

"I don't doubt it for a second. Still, you could have warned me that it makes you into a bit of an idiot."

"Feeling a little out of control, are we? You are in love. Good."

***

That afternoon, an owl arrived from Dumbledore, saying that he needed to speak with Sirius and Remus immediately. They grimly said goodbye to Katie and Liz, and apparated on the road leading to Hogwarts. Sirius transformed, and they quickly made their way up to the castle. They entered quietly to find that students were just starting to finish their afternoon classes. Sirius saw Remus wave at a handful of students who smiled when they saw him, but did not to stop and talk to anyone. _Why delay the inevitable?_

They went up to Dumbledore's office, where Snape was already waiting. He turned to them as they walked in. Sirius resumed his usual form, and he and Remus stood there, staring at Snape.

"Lucius Malfoy cast that spell," he said in a very grim tone. "As I suspected."

****

***** 6 *****

Sitting in Dumbledore's office, Sirius wasn't paying all that much attention as Remus, Snape and Dumbledore discussed the current situation. _Lucius Malfoy. We could have guessed that. So clever, wasn't he? All those years ago, when they started bringing the Death Eaters into Azkaban, he was never there. So many of his 'friends' though, I remember them. Some of them went home, but a lot of them just went insane. Cold and screaming…._

Sirius remembered the last time he met up with Lucius Malfoy, all those years ago with James and Remus. The League knew he was up to something, and most likely involved with the destruction of the League's wards at their homebase in Exeter, but they couldn't prove it. Even when they brought him in for questioning, Malfoy just sat there, saying little. His face had the same expression of quiet contempt he'd had at school. He had been a few years ahead of them at Hogwarts. Sirius could never even recall hearing the man speak then, but he had always looked particularly nasty. _He never said a word then, ether. He knew that we'd just end up letting him go. Nothing is more dangerous than an enemy who is wise. _There was nothing substantial to hold him on. He had broken no laws, they could not prove his involvement in anything. It had been one of the first really big situations they had been involved in, and James was wild that they couldn't hold him. Malfoy knew that, and taunted them quietly and relentlessly for three days while they held him for questioning. _He just sat there, arms crossed casually, smiling at us with malignant and delighted venom. And he never said a single word._

Sirius could feel himself getting tense and angry. _This will solve nothing. It will only make it worse, actually._ He forced himself to calm, and to focus on listening to Remus. _That usually works…._

"We will need the ashes and the earth if we are to control this spell. They must be from the house, yes?"

Snape nodded grimly. "The ashes will be from the family shrine. The earth will be from the grounds of the house."

__

Get involved in the conversation; that will help. "Where's the shrine?"

Snape looked at him evenly. "The family shrine is on the first floor at the heart of the house. It is the hearthstone of the original house, and built over an ancient well shaft. As to where the earth came from, I cannot say. Obviously, if we had earth from the same spot Malfoy had taken it from it would be far more powerful, but any earth that touches the house itself will be sufficient."

Sirius saw Remus nod grimly and stare off into space, thinking about something. 

"And what about the blood? Liz said she was sure there was blood in the spell. Can we be sure of that? Are we supposed to get Malfoy's blood?"

Dumbledore nodded. "If Liz sensed blood, I do not doubt that it is there. The blood will have been used to bond the spell. We have no idea whose blood that is. I doubt very much that Mr. Malfoy would have used his own, as it would be too obvious a solution. But," he looked at Remus who finally brought his attention back and looked at Dumbledore, "we can use another's blood." Remus nodded with a grim expression on his face.

Sirius didn't like Remus' expression at all "Isn't that dangerous?" he said, looking from Dumbledore to Snape.

"Very," answered Snape. "But we have little choice in this matter."

Sirius caught Remus' eye. _I know that expression. This is not good, but it's going to happen. _Sirius began to feel cold again, and moved closer to the fire. They would have to go to Malfoy's home to get what they needed. The Wards were not coming down; the only answer was to wait for a moment to get over the spell circle and enter the secret camp from inside. All they had to do would be to expose it, even for a moment, and it would be worthless. But that was a remote possibility. _And the only way back is past the Dementors, which you're useless against, and failure is not an option. And what if this time they're waiting for us? By now they would have checked the caves; we reset the spells when we left, but if they look closely, they'll know they'd been broken once. Liz isn't going with us again, I don't care what Remus says. Right; like you'll be able to tell her to sit at home and wait, Black._ Feeling more and more trapped made his heart race a bit. 

"So," said Remus, in his overly calm tone that made Sirius even more anxious, " we need to figure out how to get into the manor. And soon."

Snape shook his head. "You won't be getting in there anytime soon, Lupin. At the moment 20 or so Death Eaters are there. They will be there for a while. It would be suicide to break into the house. Under the best of circumstances it is difficult to get within the manor, but I will help you there. Malfoy doesn't keep the strongest wards on his home so that he does not raise the suspicions of the Ministry. Remember, the Malfoys are an ancient and 'respected' family; good citizens. They would never do to appear to openly support anything other than themselves, unless victory was obvious. Malfoy was also in trouble with Voldemort for denouncing him, you know. Just like the others."

Remus looked at Dumbledore. "Hasn't the Ministry led several raids on Malfoy's? Perhaps, if Arthur and Dexter raided Malfoy's home again, they could gather the ingredients we need…."

Snape interrupted him.

"No. Malfoy has taken precautions against any further raids. The mirrors that line the great gallery have been enchanted, and will force any that look into them to reveal themselves. Malfoy did this after the last incident at his home. They force someone to disclose the true purpose of their visit. We cannot send others, under any circumstances, as they will be brought past the mirrors, and will tell Malfoy exactly why they are in the house. Not only will he have them, he will know that we are aware of the secret camp. I am very certain that your visit there has not been discovered as of yet."

"This is why it took me some time to confirm my suspicions; I could not go to the Manor to speak with Malfoy directly or he would know what I was up to. I had to wait to meet with him on one of the rare occasions he is alone away from his home."

Sirius began to feel the tightening in his chest again, and forced himself to take several deep breaths. "Snape, when will we be able to get into that house?"

"Every year at Christmas Malfoy hosts a large ball. The invitation list is very diverse. The house will be overflowing with guests from all corners of the wizarding world, and of course the Ministry itself."

__

Social work.

"On that night, the house will be the most accessible. With so many people around, it is difficult to keep up seeker spells, or very complex guardian wards. While it will be by no means unguarded, you will have the easiest time entering the manor, and have the best access. The family shrine itself will be very heavily guarded, of course; no one would be admitted there and Malfoy would not want anyone to be able to get in there. But getting inside the shrine will be a better challenge to face than getting into the house itself."

Remus looked at Sirius for a moment, then leaned across and whispered something to Dumbledore. _What? If you think you're going to do this yourself…._ Dumbledore nodded at Remus, and Sirius was startled to see that he was smiling slightly. He turned to address Sirius and Snape.

"Severus, I think you are correct. While it is unfortunate to have to wait three weeks to get inside the home, I agree that this is the most prudent approach. I will ask, however, that you are to keep a very close ear to the Death Eaters in case we hear that something is about to happen with regards to the hidden site. We can only hope that Voldemort is still not prepared to return and does not plan to anytime in the immediate future."

"Albus? Have you spoken to Fudge regarding the Ministry's position on Voldemort yet? Liz and I were discussing the matter after your last letter. If the Ministry suddenly decides to publicly announce they believe you, it could force Voldemort to return before he has completed his plans. Then this will be for nothing." Sirius was amazed how he could keep his voice so even when his head was pounding so hard. 

"Yes, Sirius, that thought had also occurred to me. I am meeting with Fudge the day after tomorrow, and will impress upon him the urgency of not saying anything just yet." Dumbledore gave a sad smile at this. "Ironic, isn't it? I will not be telling him anything of our conversations, or of your current plans, however, as I am not certain that he would not go and do something rash like confront Malfoy with these suspicions."

Sirius saw that both Remus and Snape nodded grimly in agreement. Dumbledore stood up. "Gentlemen, I think for now it is best that we conclude this meeting. Snape and I are due in the great hall for dinner, and I am certain that you would both like to return home yourselves. Remus, on that other matter, you are quite right and I shall deal with it." Sirius looked at Remus, who did not meet his gaze. _What is he up to?_

They said goodnight, and left. Sirius and Remus left the castle, and walked slowly across the great lawn towards the road leading to Hogsmead.

"Remus?" 

"Hmmm?"

"What did Dumbledore mean by that?" _Okay, even I heard the snappy way that came out._ He looked at Remus a little apologetically, but was surprised to see that Remus was smiling.

"Oh, I just didn't want to mention in front of Snape how very useful an invisibility cloak might be."

Sirius managed to laugh. "Yes, Harry would be most displeased, I think, if Snape could confirm what he's always suspected about where that cloak ended up. No matter if it did mean you and I saved the world with it."

Remus gave him an amused glance. "Save the world, Padfoot? That seems a bit much, even for you."

Sirius felt his own smile fade a bit. "Well, let's just try and save our own little corner of it, then."

***

When they came home that evening, they found Liz and Katie sitting by the fire with Malcolm. Sirius stopped and just looked at them for a few moments. _When did I become such a sentimental old duff? What happened to that boy who did everything he pleased only because it amused him? _He looked at Remus, who had gone to sit next to Katie and was smiling at the baby. _I guess we all grew up. Just like James did; we laughed at him at the time, but all he did was beat us to it, I guess._

He sighed, and sat down next to Liz on the floor next to the hearth, leaning against the front of the chair and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. _Well this isn't so different from sitting around the common room seventh year, is it? Has so much changed? Okay, maybe the baby's an interesting addition to the scene, but back then it could easily have been Stella Carrington's ruddy cat. Remus hates cats, but he was just a little too nice to that beast to fool James and me. Lily told us to just shut up about it…._ Sirius chuckled, and caught Remus' eye.

"Malcolm's a much better companion than Besset, now isn't he?"

Remus looked confused for a moment, then his eyes widened a bit as he understood Sirius' barb. He gave Sirius a hard look, then his own smile took on a rather dangerous look. Sirius immediately regretted giving Remus an excuse or an easy opening.

"Shall we really get into a discussion on this subject Sirius? Are you very sure you want to?"

"Um, no actually. Must be tired. Excitement from the day and all that. So, Liz, Katie; how did you spend your day?"

"Sirius," said Katie in a casual tone, her eyes still focused on Malcolm, "I know exactly who Besset is."

Liz just laughed and shook her head, giving Sirius an amused glance. "Wasn't that Stella Carrington's idiotic cat? The one who mysteriously ended up giving hives to all the seventh year Slytherin boys when it was locked in their dorm one evening with a shedding curse?"

Sirius grinned. "Fancy being so mean to a poor little kitty as to lock it in a room with Snape."

Katie got up, handing Malcolm over to Remus. "Not one of your more polished ideas, Sirius."

Both Remus and Sirius automatically said, "It was James' idea," then laughed. 

"Indeed? And just who put it in that room?"

Sirius froze at this, and his smile disappeared. 

"Peter did that. Only because James personally asked him to."

***

Over the next several weeks, waiting to get into Malfoy's, Sirius and Remus worked on detecting and breaking protection spells. Snape had sent them a layout of the Manor, and they planned the fastest route to the shrine. Sirius decided that it would be best to enter the house near the end of the evening; experience from breaking into places he should not be had proved that while most hosts were very precautions at the start of an event, they relaxed more towards the end. _At least, that used to work. Not that Malfoy is ever going to be 'relaxed'._

Liz was most displeased that she was not invited on this raid. Sirius and Remus, however, insisted that she stay at the house. They argued about how three was too many, that it just offered more opportunity to get caught, but it sounded a little weak even to them. _We can't risk her. We need her here in case we don't come back. But nobody's going to say that._

Sirius was grateful that Liz did not come out and confront him on the issue. She seemed to understand how thy felt, and decided that it was not worth arguing over because it was basically a brutal yet sound argument. _Like Katie. _

Liz had finished translating the spell circle, which was easier once she knew who had cast it, and was now focused on developing the proper spell to counteract it. Sirius found her in the front room one day, sitting on the floor, surrounded by piles of dangerous looking books and staring at the image of the circle with her head in her hands.

"Liz?"

She looked up quickly at him, and managed a weak smile, but her face was strained. Sirius came over and offered her a hand up. She stood, and he kissed her. When they broke apart, he led her without a word to the doors to the garden and they went outside. It had finally started to snow the day before, and the garden was buried under several inches of snow. The only disturbance was a path leading from the kitchen to the greenhouse where Katie had gone that morning to gather ingredients for some of her patients. Still in silence, they walked hand in hand out the front gate and crossed the road to one of the paths that lead through the forest. The branches of the trees were covered in snow, and the only sound was the crunch of the snow when they walked on it. But Sirius couldn't stand the silence, and after a few minutes he stopped and held Liz back.

"What is it? You can't sulk about what's going to happen when we go to Malfoy's. First, there's nothing else to be done about it. Remus and I have to do this. Second, I hate seeing this look on your face. I have never liked making any woman look like that and I find it particularly disturbing on you." _Same look Lily used to get when we did something she thought was too rash or dangerous. The same look she wore for a week when I convinced her not to use Remus as their secret keeper._

Liz managed a weak smile at this. "Glad I don't seem to be quite like other women to you, Mr. Black."

"Liz, you know you're not. But that's not what I came out here to discuss."

"What then?"

__

What indeed? I have no idea. I just didn't want to stay in that house and look at you with that miserable expression on your face.

He looked at her, then laughed lightly. "I've no idea, really. What do you think of the current Quiddich standings?"

She laughed outright at this and her face relaxed finally. She wrapped her arms around him and didn't respond for a few minutes. Sirius just enjoyed standing there quietly, and waited for some response.

"Sirius? What do you really think is going to happen?"

"I believe with all my heart that Remus and I are going to be able to get what we need. I never doubt Remus, you know. He's a pretty safe bet when he's determined to get something to work. Getting him to that point can be a damned miserable experience, but once that line is crossed, best step back."

Liz looked up at him. "Oh. No, that's not what I meant, actually, sorry."

"What did you mean, then?"

"I meant with you and me. What's our future? I'm not trying to sound dramatic here. But I do wonder. We're hardly a conventional pair, are we?" She didn't sound dramatic, either. She spoke in the same quiet tone she asked most serious questions she needed solved.

Sirius looked at her. "Liz, I have no idea. I have nothing, nothing to offer you right now, except a hope that one day this will all be over, that I will be proved innocent, and that I finally _will _have something to offer you. Some substance."

"You've substance now, Sirius."

"Not really, but it's sweet of you to say. I am the most wanted man in the wizard world. Most people think I'm a traitor and a murderer. If I'm caught, I won't be going back to Azkaban, you know. I'll be given the kiss, without trial or question. That's not a future, is it? It's very nice here, hidden away. But it's a small little place to be. And it's not mine to give. I told you I loved you, and that's very true. But I can't give you anything more than that until…."

"Sirius, I know you're not those things."

Sirius smiled and kissed her softly. "Of course; I know you know that. But Liz, I can't pretend that I can create some normal little life here or anywhere. I may be forced to leave here any day as it is. You know that the Ministry has been here on several occasions to question Remus as to my whereabouts. And Remus always dutifully lies in the same tone he used when confronted by McGonagal or Kitchner. No one would dare to challenge it because you'd feel a fool for doing it. I can't make you any promises; until I can, I don't think there's anything else to say on the subject."

Liz looked at him evenly. "Fine. You have a point. I'll just wait, then, and see what happens."

Sirius felt tears in his eyes. "Will you? I'd understand if you didn't, you know."

"Sirius, do I strike you as some ninny of a girl who swoons over every handsome man she meets under the moonlight and tells him she loves him?"

He had to grin at this. "Hardly."

"And do you see me as some flighty woman who cannot fathom what it means to love someone so much that you would wait a lifetime to be with them?"

Sirius felt his expression grow sombre again.

"No. But can you? Can anyone wait that long for a promise that may not ever be met? Is anything worth that?"

"I think you are. Or is it that you don't think I am?"

Sirius was stunned at this. He shook his head slowly and looked at her. "I know you are."

"Then why are we arguing about it?"

"Because I feel very guilty asking you to do it. It's as simple as that." Liz smiled sadly at him.

"I never do anything I don't want to. So you've nothing to be guilty over. Now, I you hate seeing this glum look on my face, why don't you do something other than perpetuate it?"

Sirius had to laugh; then he stepped back, reached down, and scooped up a handful of snow. "How about a good old fashioned snowball fight?" he asked, with a wicked glint in his eye.

"A much more sensible idea, I think."

When they made it back to the house, covered in snow and laughing like maniacs, Sirius had to admit he felt much better. _For a while, at least._

***

Finally, the day of the ball arrived. Remus and Sirius spent most of the morning by themselves, playing with Malcolm, debating over whether he had learned to smile yet, or if it was just yawning, gas or whatnot. Katie and Liz left them alone for the most part, seeming to understand that this was what they needed to stay calm and focused. _I promised you, Malcolm. We're going to make this alright for you and everyone else._

Hedwig arrived with a package after lunch. It contained Harry's invisibility cloak and a note.

Padfoot & Moony-

Dumbledore said that you needed this. I want it back, understand? No excuse will ever compensate for its loss. 

I'll see you in two weeks. Merry Christmas.

Love,

Harry

Katie looked at the note, then looked at Remus, who nodded and glanced at Sirius. 

__

I get the message, too, Moony. I promise you, Harry; we'll bring it, and ourselves, back. 

Liz watched Sirius, who unfolded the cloak and smiled.

"Oh, what trouble we got up to with this, right Moony?"

Remus smiled back at him. "I think we can pay it all back if we get this right tonight."

"Well, most of it at least."

"How did James get this in the first place?" asked Liz. "They're so rare."

Remus gave her his best "not a chance" look. "Marauder secret, I'm afraid. We are bound never to tell. We promised, you know."

Katie laughed and looked at Liz. "Well, that's it from this one at least. See if you can have a go at the other one later."

Sirius pretended to look very hurt. "Mrs. Lupin; I did make the same promise, you know. Plus, I feel no need to incriminate myself. I have enough resting on my docket as it is."

Liz looked at Katie. "Now I don't want to know."

"I know the feeling, believe me."

***

Remus and Sirius set out well after dark. The Malfoy house was set far inside a forest on the Welsh border. A deep ravine was set on one side behind the house, and in the darkness it looked impossibly deep. They carefully kept just inside the woods that ran along the road that bordered the ravine and lead to the drive up to the house. Sirius transformed, as the animagus would be able to smell anyone nearby, and Remus kept an eye out for any protection charms. But Snape was right, there were only standard charms that wizards kept to sense if muggles were nearby. They could hear the sounds of the party. _What a party. I can't imagine spending a more unpleasant evening._

They saw a few wizards standing watch, but with the invisibility cloak it was easy to go past them while walking on the ground where the snow had already been trodden and disturbed by the large number of guests attending. They waited quietly next to the wizard at the front door until someone came out to leave, then passed quickly behind them and into the house before the door was shut. Sirius caught his breath involuntarily when he saw the back of Lucius Malfoy, obviously returning to his guests after bidding whoever had just left goodbye. _I assume that's Narcissa with him. Still looks quite the cold bitch, doesn't she?_ He was brought out of it by Remus poking him in the ribs. Silently they stepped forward and worked their way around a few guests to the back of the entry hall.

They could not pass down the great gallery because of the mirrors. The charm would have compelled them to remove the cloak. Remus was fairly good at resisting such charms, but Sirius was not as strong as he used to be, and refused to risk it. Instead, they worked their way through a series of drawing rooms and a library, until they could see the dark narrow hallway that led to the family shrine. Slowly, they moved forward, and inspected the spell keeping the door sealed.

Remus whispered in Sirius' ear after studying the first spell. "Sirius? We need to break this together. Ready?"

Together they aimed and brought down the spell as quietly as possible. Remus stepped to the door and carefully pushed it open. The room was a vaulted stone chamber, lined with columns and with the hearthstone sitting in the centre. The columns of the room were carved to look like oak trees, spreading their branches over the vaulted ceiling. 

"Earth magic." Whispered Remus, and Sirius nodded. He stepped forward to look at the hearthstone. It was an ancient slab, with a fire burning in an indentation in the centre.

"Remus? Didn't Snape say that this was built over an old well?"

"Yes," he replied, carefully scraping some ash from the fire into a small vial.

"I think I know where the earth came from. It's under the hearthstone. That's why there's no water mentioned in the incantation, it's hidden in the earth."

Remus looked up at him with an expression of surprise. "You're right. That's perfect. It's so obvious! I thought he'd left out water because the cave had so much water, but I think you're right. In any event, we need earth that touches the house and this would be the strongest." Carefully they knelt down next to the hearthstone and looked for any loose flooring. 

"If he did use this, there must be a way to get under the floor and at the earth. See anything?"

Sirius shook his head, and continued to test various stones. Finally, they found a very small bit of shale at the join between the floor and the hearthstone that gave way. Sirius quickly took some of the earth and put it in another vial. They replaced the stone, then quietly left the room. They made their way back down the corridor, and through the library and the other rooms to the front hall. Very few people remained now, and they knew they had to get over to the door quickly to catch the last guests on their way out. They walked past Lucius and Narcissa, who were speaking with someone Sirius recognised from the Ministry. _Idiot. Or traitor. Both are bad…_ Suddenly, he thought he saw a flash next to him. _Oh, my God, I think…._

"Well, Mr. Black. I did always wonder where Potter's little toy ended up."

Sirius felt himself freeze at the sound of Malfoy's voice.

"This is very, very interesting. _Stupefy_!"

***

When Sirius came to, he saw he was in a large empty room with wooden floors. He and Remus were lying inside a large spell circle. _Holding circle. Touching the edges will not be pretty._ There was no one else in the room. Quickly he turned to Remus, shaking him.

"Remus? Wake up, now."

Remus didn't stir at first, but rolled slightly. Sirius noticed a large cut on Remus' cheek. _Did he do that when we fell?_ Finally, Remus opened his eyes. He looked at Sirius, seemed to focus, and then looked at the room with an expression of total misery.

"Sirius? What did we do wrong?"

Before Sirius could say anything, the door at the far end of the room opened, and Lucius Malfoy stepped in. He walked over to them in a casual fashion, slowly strolling around the edges of the circle while looking at them with a sour smile.

"So, gentlemen. This is almost too good to be true."

Malfoy spoke in a light and casual tone _Playing with his food, isn't he?_

"It's been a while, has it not? I did not imagine that you would be so very foolish as to come here yourselves. Even Dumbledore struck me as wiser than sending two of the few young and reasonably healthy people he has left here. Now, why have you come here? And so surreptitiously? Surely we can have no business to conduct. Perhaps, Black, you are here to discuss the wretched attitude of your godson. Normally in such matters I would discuss this with the boy's parents, but of course in this case it is not possible." Sirius moved slightly at that, as if to stand, but Remus put out a hand and stopped him. Lucius laughed quietly.

"I imagine you thought coming here would accomplish some goal? We'll find out what shortly. Blundering, foolish little Griffyndors. I remember your rather infantile behaviours from school. Very taken with yourselves, were you not? 'Brave hearts' but to what end? No brain to leverage it, no skills, no logic. So easily manipulated by feelings you are unable to control. You are not masters of your selves, and that is a very dangerous way to live your life, wouldn't you agree?" Sirius never took his eyes off of the man, as he continued to speak while walking casually around and around the circle.

"Nothing has changed, has it Black? Still blundering, still acting rather than thinking. And that's still not good enough. Now, Lily was different, wasn't she? But her capabilities only delayed the inevitable, so even that wasn't enough." Even Remus twitched at that one, but he stayed where he was. Sirius couldn't sit still any longer though, and stood up, walking over to the edge of the circle to stare at Malfoy, who returned his gaze with an equal malevolence.

"Yes, Black? What is it now? Some small thing to say to me? Will that make you feel better?"

Sirius managed to keep his mouth shut, but he was shaking in anger. _I'm not letting you win._

Malfoy's bitterly cold smile widened. "Oh? Nothing to say? Why not just tell me what you were doing here tonight and save me the effort of making you tell me. You won't enjoy that, I promise."

Sirius couldn't stop himself. "You nasty little puppet; you think you're going to just…."

The spell hit Sirius so hard he fell backwards, dangerously close to the edge of the circle. The pain was excruciating. The screams came back with a vengeance, as he felt himself grow bitterly cold, and all his strength seemed to leave him. Finally, the spell ended, but Sirius was too pained and stunned to move. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Malfoy step back up to the edge of the circle and focus on Remus instead.

"And you; always so quiet, compared to your boorish friends, so very, very controlled. I knew then that you must be holding very dark inside, and wondered how to reach that part of you, find out what that was. Now we know, don't we? I was surprised, I will admit. But then it made sense; you were so careful to present us with a personage who seemed the antithesis of violence, rage and darkness. And yet that's what you have inside you; terror, madness and bloodlust. You would kill anything or anyone who crossed your path. You would kill without mercy or even understanding, because all that really mattered was your own hunger and fury."

"And still you try to hide and pretend to be something you are not. You are not a man, Lupin you are a thing. A wife and child? It would be laughable were it not quite so horrifyingly inappropriate, don't you think?"

Malfoy leaded even closer, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Think you're better than the darkness do you? What happens when you let go, werewolf? Will you even remember ripping them to shreds? After all, you say you're just a man. And all men make mistakes. Only most 'men' wouldn't make such mistakes as you, don't you think? How selfish can you be, to bring others into your delusions? You think that this isn't darkness itself?"

__

Stop it! Even like this, all Sirius could think of was to protect Remus from these horrible words. Malfoy was very good. He knew exactly what would hurt Remus, and went after that with a terrible vengeance. He was saying nothing that Remus hadn't thought himself, but had learned to live with.

"Nothing to say to me, werewolf? Well, what can you expect from a beast. I shall particularly relish removing you and your wretched disease from this earth."

Sirius tried to move, but couldn't. Malfoy gave him a quick glance be fore he stood up and cursed Remus.

"Crucio!"

Sirius heard Remus scream, but he could no longer see him, as his vision had clouded over. Then there was silence for a few moments.

"I have business to attend to just now, gentlemen. But I will be back soon, and then we can finish our discussion. And then, well, you will be of no more use to me."

Sirius heard him leave the room, and then everything went black.

****

*******7*******

Sirius was having terrible dreams. Mass confusion; bodies, screams, blood. He felt like he was on fire, like he was being consumed from within with a rage and force - and still he was cold. He felt the damp of the walls around him even through the flames that consumed him. He tried to move, to run, anything, but could not. And something was coming; something huge and terrible. He found the strength to move, but it seemed like his limbs felt like lead, and he couldn't move fast enough. As he moved up the corridor in near total darkness, he heard the sound behind him. _They are coming._ He felt their whispered malevolence rather than heard it; they were inside his head, telling him they were nearly there. Sobbing with fear and rage, he reached a door. But as he tried to open it, he suddenly realised that they were no longer behind him, but were behind the door, waiting for him. Heart pounding, limbs still like lead, he turned to move away. The door started to rattle and groan as whatever was behind it started to bang on it, to break through. He turned into the next room as the door fell. Still he could see nothing, but felt them gliding towards him, a mass of terrors and never ending dread. And still in the near total darkness, he could see nothing clearly. He passed a window, and as he looked outside, saw nothing but total emptiness, and felt only the overwhelming presence of the evil that seemed to have come up right on his heels now…

Sirius suddenly sat upright with a cry, his entire body shaking as if in exhaustion. He was drenched in sweat, and frozen to the bone. His face was covered in the tears he had wept in the nightmare. He still felt the presence of the faceless horrors that had reached out to touch him…. He turned quickly, trying to remember where he was, to move and get out of reach…

He saw Remus lying next to him, motionless and as pale as he had ever seen him. Suddenly, he remembered where they were. He looked up quickly and saw that they were still alone in the empty room where Malfoy had left them, trapped in the holding circle. There was a huge fire blazing in the gigantic fireplace on the far wall, but it seemed to remove heat from the room rather than provide any. It cast a pale red glow over them, and seemed to be mocking them. Sirius put his head in his hands and breathed deeply a few times, to try and steady himself. _You've been cursed; these are only the after effects. The dreams were only that. Focus; how are you going to get Remus out of here? How are you going to take him home?_ Sirius found that focusing on Remus was much easier than focusing on himself. He was still unable to control some of his thoughts and feelings, particularly in such a condition as this. _You promised Katie; you promised Malcolm. Liz…. Don't let them down, Black._

Slowly he felt is pulse and breathing slow, but he still felt like he was burning on the inside, and still shaking from the cold. He reached out a hand towards Remus, and saw it was shaking. He stopped, and made a fist. _Don't. Stop it. _After a moment he felt steadier, and opened his hand to grip Remus' arm.

"Remus?" Remus didn't move. There were black circles under his eyes, and his face had a sick-looking sheen of fever. _Please, Remus, you need to wake up now._ He was crying again.

"Remus, please; wake up. You need to wake up." He rubbed Remus' ice cold cheek slowly. Suddenly Remus opened his eyes. They were bloodshot and dazed, but after a moment he seemed to focus on Sirius.

"Padfoot?"

Sirius managed a weak smile. "Get up, Moony. We've got quite a pickle to solve."

Remus' expression didn't change, and Sirius saw that his eyes were flat. _Don't do this Remus. I need you with me, not off somewhere hating yourself._ Malfoy's horrible words still rang in his own head, and he could only imagine what Remus' nightmares had been of. Remus rarely talked about such things, even with Sirius; but Sirius knew him too well. _Clever of Malfoy; he went for Remus far more effectively than just cursing him. Hurting him physically would have just enraged him, and Malfoy knows Remus is a powerful and dangerous wizard to trifle with. But break his mind, and he has the advantage._

"Remus, please. You need to get up, now. You need to focus on me, and only me. Not on words; on me. I know it hurts…."

Remus closed his eyes again, but rolled so he could sit up. He said nothing as he looked back at Sirius. Sirius was very scared to see that Remus' eyes were still very flat.

"We need to get up, Remus. We need to think of something…."

Remus didn't move for a while; then he turned to look out of the window. "How long do you think we've been here?" he finally asked in a hoarse whisper.

"I've no idea. But it's still pitch black out there, so I don't think it's been that long."

"Sirius, it could be the middle of the night three days from when we got here…." Sirius shook his head. 

"No. Malfoy would have found a dementor by then and finished me off."

"Not if he thinks he can get useful information from you."

"He can get far more useful information from a free man."

Remus turned away from Sirius with a violent emotion. "Stop it!" he said harshly. "Stop it!"

Remus stood up shakily, and looked around the room slowly. Sirius took a deep breath and stood up next to him. His head still rang with the echoes of the screaming voices, and he felt very ill. The room spun slightly as he followed Remus' gaze. He stopped when he caught Remus' eye, and felt his heart leap. _The spark; it's back._ He gave a little smile.

Remus gave his own small sad smile. "Well, any ideas?"

"I did get us out of the broom closet that time. Surely this can't be as difficult."

"Or as dangerous, I should think." _That's my Moony; rally to the moment._

They both jumped as they heard a sudden small noise at the far end of the room, and turned. Sirius refused to think about what was probably about to happen next.

The door to the room opened slightly, and Sirius managed to make out a tall figure that slipped in without a sound and quickly and just as silently closed the door. He moved towards them with hardly a sound, and stopped at the edge of the spell. _Who's this? Damn young to be involved in this bloody mess…._He heard Remus catch his breath.

"Draco?" Remus whispered.

Sirius tried to focus on the young man standing there. With only the light of the fire and the fact that his eyes were still not focusing, it was hard to see his face. But he could see the hard set to the mouth, and the tenseness in the young man's posture. He did nod at Remus, but then held up a hand warning them not to speak. _What is the boy doing? Come to claim a place in Voldemort's inner circle on his own, by being the one to finish us off? _Sirius felt the anger coming back now, and realised that he was shaking now with fury more than from the desperate cold fear and self-loathing that had been with him since they had woken up.

Draco raised his wand, and started muttering under his breath. Sirius flinched, but Remus grabbed him and held him fast. _Let me go, Remus. I'm not letting this one take me down without a fight. And maybe if he goes for me first, you can get out, and go home…._ But Draco was not focused on them; his gaze was fixed on the floor, at the heart of the spell marker for the holding circle. Suddenly, the spell marker burst into flames, and it flared up around them, destroying the circle. Sirius was too stunned to move, and stood there, staring at the boy as Remus let go of him and moved forward towards Draco.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" asked Remus in a surprised whisper.

Sirius glanced at Remus. _Don't you dare trust this boy._

Draco seemed to almost smile at that, but it wasn't a pleasant look. "Exactly what it looks like, Professor." He replied in a very quiet voice. "I will not let my father kill you; or anyone else for that matter, if I can do anything about it. I'm doing what I can to stop all this; if it can be stopped. Potter better be what everyone's always said he is, or none of this matters anyway."

"Draco…" but Draco motioned for silence. Then he smiled bitterly and looked at the floor. 

"Professor Snape and I have been very careful to make sure nobody knew the true reason you came here. We also had to make certain that you were in fact caught, so father continues to believe in Professor Snape's 'loyalty'. He alerted father to the fact that he suspected someone would try to come here this evening, to spy on the house using the noise and crowd of the party to cover their actions. Of course, we didn't tell him any of this until late this afternoon, so he couldn't have time to do anything to particularly dangerous in preparation. We certainly didn't tell him Black would be here. That was a 'bonus' he seems delighted with. It also helps convince him further of Professor Snape's loyalty. Certainly Professor Snape would never, ever do anything to aid Sirius Black."

__

So; Remus and Dumbledore were right about this one. If Lucius knew what he was doing right now…

Draco looked at Sirius with an inscrutable expression. "He's planning on handing you over in the morning, right on the front steps of the Ministry itself. Quite a spectacle he's got planned. He's already sent an owl to Fudge to meet him there first thing. Too bad it won't happen." He stopped speaking for a moment, and looked at Sirius and Remus thoughtfully.

"I'd known that you would have to shield yourselves somehow. I didn't expect the invisibility cloak, however. That was an interesting touch. But I knew you were here, because I finally managed to get away from the crowd and come back to watch the door to the shrine. I saw the door open and then shut, seemingly of its own accord. I had to ascertain if you had entered or exited the room, however, because I did not want you to realise what was going to happen and I knew you needed to gather the ingredients you needed. Did you guess that the earth came from the well?" Remus and Sirius looked at each other, then Remus looked back at Draco and gave a single curt nod.

"Good. I have some here in case you hadn't. Anyway, as I stood there in the shadows trying to decide how I was going to figure out whether you were inside the room or not, I saw the library door open and close silently. I knew you had to go the long way around the gallery, and realised that you must have just left the room headed for the great hall. I ran there, and decided you must be near the front, waiting for someone to leave so you could follow them outside."

Sirius could no longer keep silent. "But how did you actually see us?" he whispered at Draco.

"I didn't see you, not until you removed the cloak. I had removed a small piece of one of the enchanted mirrors earlier that day. I knew that however you were deciding to hide yourselves to get in, the mirror would force you to reveal yourselves for what you really were. I flashed the mirror and waited for one of you to look into it by accident."

__

That was the flash of light, then. The mirror catching a torch.

Draco was looking vaguely ill as he continued. "It scared me though, when I realised that you were not enchanted but simply hidden. The mirror would break an enchantment, you see, and force you to reveal yourself that way. If you were only hidden, I didn't know if the mirror would force you to speak. Luckily," he grimaced a bit and gave Remus a vaguely apologetic look, "it first forced you to remove the cloak, and my father and the others wasted no time in stunning you to bring you in here."

Remus looked at Sirius, then turned back to Draco and nodded again. Draco said nothing for a moment, then nodded himself and stepped back from the edge of the remains of the spell towards the window, and motioned them to follow him. 

"I can't believe he put you in here. Arrogant bastard probably never dreamed you'd get out and could get anywhere near such a convenient escape route. My father is no fool, but pride leads one to do foolish things, wouldn't you agree? The window's charmed, of course, but it should be no match for the best DADA teacher we ever had, should it?" He gave Remus a strained smile.

"You're going to have to do one thing before you leave. You need to stun me. And you need to make it look good." He reached into a pocket and took out their wands, handing them to Remus. 

"I can't do that to you…." Started Remus, but Draco glared at him.

"You need to. Or they _will _kill me instead, you know. If you stun me, I can convince them that I was being an idiot, that I came in here to taunt you, and that my little game got away from me. Trust me; that will be easily believed. If they think I did this on purpose…I'm sure my father himself will curse me on the spot."

Remus and Draco stared at each other for a few moments. Sirius had had enough.

"I'll do it," he said, reaching for his wand. But Draco suddenly turned on him with a disturbing speed and raised his wand at Sirius' chest.

"No, not you. Don't you dare, Black, or I will stop you both and go for the others. Then what will you do? They'll forget trying to get anything useful from you and just end it right now." Draco then spoke to Remus, but his eyes never left Sirius' face. "You, Professor. I know you won't hurt me more than is necessary and I trust you. I do not trust this man at all. Please do this for me. Everyone thinks of me as something I don't believe I am; and that I don't want to be. I am sure, Professor, that you understand this." He finished quietly.

Sirius looked at Remus, who now had the stony set to his expression that Sirius knew meant he had decided enough was enough, and to just get it over with. 

"Alright, Draco."

Draco lowered his wand away from Sirius. "Get the window open first, so you can get out of here fast. I realise it's pitch black out there, but just go as straight as you can and you'll reach the woods. Then get to the road by the ravine. That's where the enchantments on the house end, and you can apparate. Are you both up to doing that?"

Sirius and Remus nodded, though Sirius' head was spinning and he still felt ill. _I'll manage it. I have to._ They moved silently to the windows, and got the holding charms down in a few minutes. _Focus, Black, focus. Just keep thinking that if you do this, you'll go straight home. You'll see Harry again, and Katie and Malcolm, and you'll see Liz. Just focus._ Draco remained standing in the middle of the room, obviously listening for the sound of anyone coming. As the last charm went down, and Remus slowly opened the window, they turned back to look at Draco.

"Alright, Draco; we're ready. Are you?"

Draco nodded, and moved to face them fully. 

"You need one more thing before you leave."

He took a small knife out of his pocket, and a handkerchief. Then he cut open his palm and clutched the handkerchief. _It's his blood in the spell. His father…._

He silently folded the bloody handkerchief and handed it to Remus. Then he healed the cut on his hand, and passed Remus his wand. "I'll miss that. But maybe when I get a new one it won't have such…interesting…properties." Sirius was stunned to see that Draco had tears in his eyes. "Professor?"

"Yes?"

"I hear you had a son. Congratulations."

Sirius was suddenly stuck by a strong wave of compassion for this boy, listening to the sad tone of his voice._ Harry might never believe this….._

But Remus just smiled gently at Draco. "Yes, Draco. Thank you very much."

Draco cast a miserable glance over his shoulder and sighed. "Do right by him, Professor Lupin. I have no doubt you will." 

Remus nodded, then raised his wand. Sirius turned, unable to watch what was going to happen next. 

"Stupefy!"

The spell hit Draco in the chest, and he fell backwards instantly with a heavy thump that echoed off the floorboards in the empty room. Sirius and Remus jumped out the window and onto the lawn, heading through the near total darkness of the yard towards the pitch-black forest. They were about halfway there when they heard shouts coming from the house. Moving through the snow was difficult, and their injuries made it even harder to move with any alacrity, but they managed to somehow get across the lawn, and not lose each other in the dark. _Don't let this opportunity go to waste, Black. Don't let that boy's suffering and courage be for nothing. _He felt the fear creeping back, and the coldness coming back through his body. The sounds in his head seemed to be getting louder too; all those awful screams. He never figured out if that was his screaming or the others. _Probably both…_ Suddenly he felt Remus grab his robes and pull him to a stop. His foot slipped, and he felt the edge of something.

"Sirius! Stop! The ravine's right here…." But Sirius slipped. He tried to push Remus away from him, but Remus did not let go. They fell heavily into the snow about 10 feet over the side of the road, and started to slide down the ravine's step slope. 

Sirius now grabbed Remus about the chest and held him tightly to him, knowing that if they lost each other in this, it would be very difficult to find one another. Branches whipped at them, Sirius felt himself hitting rocks and other hard objects under the thick layer of snow, and he ached from the cold. In the total darkness, Sirius could see nothing around them or ahead of them. _We have no idea how deep this ravine is. We need to stop soon, or we'll be in no shape to leave…they'll find us…._

Suddenly he felt Remus reach out and grab at something. Remus could see better in the dark, a lingering effect of the wolf's keen senses. _Thank god. The wolf finally comes through for him…._

"Sirius?" said Remus, in a very pained tone of voice, "you have to let go. We need to apparate. Grab this branch here…." Sirius reached up and felt his hand hit a branch; he grabbed hold, and pain shot up his arm. _I must have broken some fingers, or the hand. _"Now go. Get back to the house."

"Remus, you're leaving first. Do it. If you can't manage it, I 'm just going to have to figure out how to get us both out of here."

"I'll be fine…."

"Stop it! Go now! Think about Katie and think about Malcolm and get the hell out of this bloody snow bank and back to your home!"

Remus swore at him, and his voice had an unpleasant tone as he said, through his clenched teeth. "Together then, you stubborn idiot. One…two….three…."

Sirius felt everything dissolve around him. His head was pounding, every part of his body ached, and he felt as weak and ill as he had ever felt in his life. Then he was standing in snow again, but in front of him were the French doors leading to Remus' front room. And he turned to see Remus standing shakily next to him. Remus was very, very pale; his eyes were sunken and dark, and his face was covered with scratches. _I can't look much better than that._

Sirius reached out to grab him by the arm, both to steady Remus and to reassure himself that they were standing here. Remus looked at him slowly; Sirius had not seen him look so pained and lost in a very long time.

"Remus; it's okay…." Sirius heard Katie and Liz coming out of the house, calling their names. Remus closed his eyes, and a tear escaped and ran down one cheek.

"Don't Remus," whispered Sirius, "don't you do it. We did it. We're back, and we have what we need. Don't let that bastard hurt you like this; and don't let that boy down."

Katie ran up and wrapped her arms around Remus. He didn't move and kept his eyes closed. Sirius could see now that he was shaking, but didn't know if that was from the cold or from the overwhelming emotions and exhaustion he felt.

Katie looked at him. "Remus, love, are you alright? You've been hurt…."

Remus opened his eyes and looked at her quietly. She gave Sirius a quick, concerned glance when she saw the look in Remus' eyes.

"We lost the cloak, Katie," said Remus in a quiet, dazed voice.

Now she gave Sirius with a very worried look, as she started to lead Remus back to the house. "He's in shock; Sirius, what happened?"

"Malfoy. He knew we'd be there; he captured us, cursed us…."

Katie looked utterly furious. "Snape…."

"No, it's not what it sounds like. We got what we needed, including the blood. Liz…." Sirius suddenly felt very light headed, and vaguely felt Liz grab his own arms.

"Katie?" _She sounds worried…._

"Yes," he heard Katie say from what seemed a long ways off, "he's in shock too. We need to get them in bed…." Then he passed out.

***

When Sirius woke up it he saw daylight. But it was the cold muted daylight of a snowy day. He turned to look out the window, and saw a heavy snow falling. _I have no idea what day it is…._ He tried to sit up, but found that his entire body still ached. He forced himself to sit up, however, but it took him a while to get upright. He could hear nothing but the crackling of the fireplace. He sat there, feeling shaky and a little out of breath, carefully thinking about nothing but the silent snow falling harmlessly outside the window.

Suddenly, the door to his room opened slightly, and Katie looked in. When she saw he was awake, she smiled and came in. Sirius was thrilled to see she had Malcolm with her, and managed to overcome his aches and pains enough to take him from her. Katie sat on the edge of the bed and said nothing for a while, just watching Sirius holding the baby. _He's so alert now. Watches everything with those big brown eyes. No doubt he's Remus'; he already looks like he's thinking about everything._ He smiled up at Katie and sighed.

"Thanks. This is a very nice thing to wake up to."

She smiled quietly and reached over to stroke Malcolm's forehead lightly. "Feeling better?"

"Much. But anything would be an improvement, I think. How's Remus?"

Katie looked at him sadly. "He's feeling better, but he won't tell me anything. He seems very withdrawn and has been having a hard time with Malcolm. Either he won't touch him or he can't let go of him. He's still weak; your trip down the mountainside smashed two of his ribs, broke his left arm, and gave him a mild concussion. That on top of the curses. But there's something else bothering him and…." She suddenly broke off, fighting back tears. "And I can't believe he won't tell me what it is." She managed to choke out.

"Katie, Malfoy did and said terrible things to Remus…."

"Said? What did he say?"

"All the things that Remus fears. He called him a monster, told him he was a thing with no business pretending to be a man, no business having a family. Taunting Remus with suggestions of what might happen when he lost control and let the wolf hurt you, and Malcolm…."

Katie shook her head, and started to cry quietly. "I knew it had to be something like that. Bastard." She was silent for a few moments, then continued, still focused on Malcolm and not meeting Sirius' eyes.

"I don't know what to say to him, Sirius. I never have on this; I can only tell him I love him, that…that I know he will never, ever hurt either of us. But sometimes he just doesn't listen to me, and there's nothing else I can say because I can't make this go away. I can't cure this…." She had to stop now, and Sirius reached out the arm that wasn't supporting Malcolm to pull her down onto his shoulder. She cried for a few minutes, but Sirius said nothing. 

__

She's right; there is nothing to say to this. It will never go away, but Remus will get over it, like he has before. He knows in his heart that he's none of those things Malfoy said, but in his mind, it will always be his greatest nightmare.

"Katie?" he said finally, when she seemed to have quieted a bit, "you know, you _know,_ that this will pass, that he just needs to work through it. We talked about this before, before you told him you loved him, before you married him, before Malcolm was born. When he gets overly emotionally strained, this is going to be his first pull back, because he never wants to hurt you. And right now, when he's like this that's all he can think about. I don't think he realises, honestly, that _this _is the only thing he'll ever really do to hurt you. That's what you need to work on. Probably for the rest of your life. You know that, I know you do."

Katie sat back and looked at him sadly, but she nodded. "I know. I just… sometimes… it's hard, you know? It's damn hard."

Sirius smiled at her softly. "But worth it, Katie-girl, yes?"

Katie smiled back warmly. "Oh, yes I'd have to say so. Here, you've had your visit with him," she said, standing up and reaching to take Malcolm. "We're going to go see daddy now, I think. He'll be awake again, don't you think, my little marauder?" she tickled the baby on his chin and he wiggled a bit. Sirius laughed quietly. 

"I guess that name stuck, then?"

Katie grinned. "You may win that round, Mr. Black, but I will still have my say in his future behaviour, dangerous nicknames not withstanding." She turned to go when Sirius suddenly remembered something.

"Katie? Can I ask a question?"

"Yes?"

"What day is it, for goodness sake?"

Katie laughed. "Oh yes. You've been asleep for three days. You had a smashed hand and several rather nasty bumps and bruises yourself. Liz has been here most of the time, but she just ran downstairs to get something to eat, and I promised I come have a look in on my way back upstairs. And you'll stay in bed for a while yet if you know what's good for you."

"Surely I can risk taking a bath; I feel filthy."

"Okay. I'll send Liz in to help with that shall I?" she was laughing on her way out the door and raising an eyebrow at him.

"Off with you, woman. Shoo."

***

By the end of the week, Remus and Sirius were back on their feet, though still moving a little slower than usual. Katie pointed out to Liz that they should enjoy the rare calm while they had a chance. Sirius was very relieved to see that Remus just laughed at this, and gave her a deep kiss in response. _He's back. Thank God._

Liz had left for a few days, to spend Christmas with her family. Sirius found himself wandering around the house, missing her terribly. _Better get used to it. She can't stay here forever. Once this is over, we'll only get to spend a few days together here and there. But someday, someday we will be together. I know it._

He was sitting in his study, happily pondering the possibilities of what would happen with them once he was free, when Remus knocked and walked in with Malcolm.

"Padfoot? We seem to have forgotten something in all the excitement. Feel like taking a walk in the woods with us?"

Sirius looked quickly at the window, to see if the light snow had stopped. He heard Remus laugh, and turned back with a sheepish grin.

"It's still snowing but by some _amazing _stroke of luck, Katie and I still have not lost all of Malcolm's warm clothes. Now, get into your own warm clothes, and come help us with a tree."

Sirius stood up and took hold of Malcolm. He smiled at the baby, then gave Remus a sly grin. "I'm not sure an 8 week old is going to be much help with a tree, Moony."

"It's Malcolm's first Christmas. I always got to help dad with the tree, and so will he. Can never start too early, you know." He reclaimed Malcolm and turned to leave. "Hurry up, Padfoot. Harry, Ron and Hermione will be here in three days. We can't have the place looking so cold and informal, now can we? And _what _would Liz think?"

__

God help you, Malcolm, the first time you defy this father of yours. You just come running to me, and I'll show you how to give in gracefully.

As they were about to leave the house, an eagle owl swooped down and dropped a package on the doorstop, then flew away again without a sound. Sirius stepped forward and picked it up. It was addressed "Prof. Lupin"; it was very light, and he did not recognise the writing. Instinctively, he took a few steps out of the house and away from Remus and Malcolm, and opened the package. 

It was the invisibility cloak. 

Sirius held it up, feeling the look of astonishment on his face; he looked at Remus and saw an equally amazed expression. _We've been rehearsing what to say to Harry for a week…_

Sirius saw a note under the cloak, and opened it.

I was very tempted to keep this rather fascinating gift from my father. But I figure that returning this is probably the 'better' thing to do, is it not?

D.M.

Sirius carefully folded the cloak, and went to place it on the front hall table. Then he walked back outside and looked at Remus. Remus was standing on the front path, holding Malcolm close and staring at the falling snow.

"Remus?"

Remus turned to look at him with an unreadable expression.

"Let's do right by Malcolm and introduce him to the family traditions, shall we? Preferably before it gets dark and I turn into the fishwife that Katie knows lurks within me."

Remus smiled Sirius and they walked off into the woods.


	3. Veritas 8

# Veritas 8B

Well, after a break I'm back.Sorry for the delay – I actually had considered just walking away from this, but decided I was being a bit of an oversensitive git. And I had to do anything to take my mind off the abysmal state of the Presidential election and the appalling behaviour from the Democrats and the GOP. I'm not thrilled with either Bush or Gore, but one of them is going to get the appointment and right now I think they're both becoming weaker and weaker in the eyes of the Americans and the world.At least everyone who dozed through sixth grade civics is finally learning what the Electoral College is all about & why they put it there to begin with. And those of us who lived in the UK, of course. I thought Parliamentary procedure got sticky….

With that off my chest, I'd like to thank Aziraphale, alpowell & Princess Emma; you three convinced me to pick this up again & I appreciate it.I thank everyone who is enjoying this, of course, but I wanted to especially thank them.

The last chapter I had posted is being re-done here, and split into two parts.Harry's POV on everything that is going on.The action will pick up more in the next bit, but this is needed to set up the continuation of this series.

***

**And a recap/synopsis of what's got us to this point in the story….**

Sirius & Remus, working for Dumbledore and the League again, have discovered a mysterious and very heavily protected Death Eater camp in the New Forest.Lucius Malfoy seems to be the head of the effort; he is responsible for casting a very dark and complex spell that guards the only entrance not protected by the Death Eaters' concealment and protection wards around the site in an underground cave at the base of a well spring that provides the force needed to hold the wards.

Sirius and Remus went to Malfoy Manor to collect the ingredients they needed to break the spell; the earth magic Lucius used can only be countered with the original items used to cast the spell.Snape, having resumed his role as a spy, helped them get in, but also tipped Lucius off to their arrival, for the purpose of keeping his cover safe.While Lucius did manage to capture them, Draco, who appears to be working with Snape, set them free later.Battered, bruised and in shock from the experience, they made it home to Remus' house, where Sirius is living at the moment.Remus' wife, Katie, is a healer, and she has quietly nursed them both back to health.

Christmas has just passed; and they are looking at starting the New Year trying to figure out exactly how they are going to get into the well spring, and what will happen once they do.Helping them with all of this is a woman from the League named Liz Harker, a Ravenclaw who was several years under them at Hogwarts.Sirius has become very attached to her…but he's not exactly free to lead any sort of normal life, is he?Harry, Ron and Hermione are, with permission from Dumbledore, coming to spend New Year's and the last week of their holiday at the Lupins.They are about to get a few surprises handed to them, but they kept saying they wanted to get involved….

***

Harry woke up when he heard the loud bang of a trunk lid falling shut.He opened one eye hesitantly to look up and saw Crookshanks watching him through half-cast eyes.

"I'm assuming that wasn't you."

Crookshanks yawned and settled back into the nest he'd made behind Harry's knees during the night._Ron promised Hermione we'd look after you.Why are you always sleeping on my bed?_ Harry always felt guilty if he moved and disrupted the cat, which he thought to be unfair in retrospect.

"Harry!Get up!Remus will be here in an hour.Just give the cat a kick, for goodness sake, and get up!"

Harry immediately stood up, ignoring Crookshanks' rather crabby sounding mews and growls._Finally_. He had been looking forward to getting to spend a week with Sirius at the Lupins for a month now, but time had seemed to stand still, especially after the holidays started and practically everyone else had left. He saw that Ron was already dressed and was busy packing the last of his things into a bag. 

"Come on, get your kit together so we can get some breakfast before Remus gets here.He's meeting us…."

"At the gate, Ron, I know. Wonder how were going to get to his house.Think we'll take the train?"Harry fought to keep the smile off his face as Ron groaned.Ron wasn't admitting it, but he was most anxious to get to the Lupins so he could see Hermione again.Hours spent on a slow moving muggle train was going to delay that considerably.

"Maybe Katie's coming with him, and she'll drive us all in that big car of hers."

"Oh, I doubt it.She's probably got to stay with Malcolm."

"Sirius will look after Malcolm; he's confessed that's his favourite pastime, right?"

"Yeah," yawned Harry, piling some clothes on the bed."It'll be nice to finally meet Malcolm, won't it?"

Ron grinned."I never thought I'd actually look forward to seeing a baby, but yeah, absolutely. Think he's as perfect as Sirius says?"

They both laughed.If Sirius was to be believed, the baby was the most angelic creature ever created, but they knew that Sirius was probably a little biased when it came to Remus' son.

"I 'spect he's essentially small, pink and uncommunicative as yet, but still I'm happy for Remus and Katie. I just hope that he doesn't cry like Sirius claims he doesn't. I can't help thinking, though, that he's a little um, overzealous, where his godchildren are concerned," said Ron, giving Harry a knowing look."He thinks so much of you, after all, but he doesn't have to listen to you snore, does he?"

Harry threw some clothes for the week into a bag and they collected Fred, George and Ginny and went down to the kitchens to get some breakfast from the house elves, grateful again that Dumbledore pointedly ignored that they knew how to do this during the holiday, though they knew better than to do it when school was in session.After breakfast they went back to the tower, collected their things and said goodbye to the other Weasleys, then left to go to the front gates to meet with Remus.

"Well, Winky looks better, doesn't she," said Harry, as they left the main doors of the castle

Ron gave a huff, trudging forward through the snow on the fields as they skipped the road to walk directly to the gate."She stopped crying at least.How can anyone cry for a year and a half anyway? And for Crouch at that."

"Maybe she's ready to rally for S.P.E.W. now that she's calmed down," Harry added, grinning at Ron's back.He was pleased to see that Ron's ears, already red from the cold, went even redder.

"Don't you dare bring all that up again. Just be happy Hermione is too pre-occupied with being a Prefect. I was worried she was going to convince Dean to try and get all the prefects united against the house elf 'enslavement' issue."

"I would have definitely used the cloak to eavesdrop on the conversation with the Slytheryn Prefects. The comments from Malfoy would have been priceless.I don't think that git knows Dobby is here at all."

They continued on in silence, finally reaching the gate and waiting quietly on the inside until suddenly Remus apparated a few feet away on the road. He smiled at them and walked forward.

"Hello! How are you?" he asked, in his usual kind and calm manner.Harry once again mused that Remus, who was after all technically a dark creature, was one of the least dark persons he had ever met.

Remus looked a little tired, but he still looked better than he ever had when he had been their teacher._He's happier now, isn't he? He has Katie, and Malcolm, that's changed him. And we know the truth about Sirius.Now we just have to prove it._

"We're good.And can't wait to get out of here. How are you?"

Remus chuckled and reached inside his robes.

"I'm fine, thank you. I decided a portkey would be best," Ron and Harry stepped forward outside of the gates and Remus handed them a book. "That will take you to the paddock, where Sirius is waiting. This will activate in about a minute," he said, looking at his watch.

"How's Hermione getting to your house?" asked Ron. Harry ginned at Remus behind Ron's back, but Remus' expression did not change._Sirius told me that only Remus was better than my dad at keeping a straight face._

"She's coming in by train, actually, from London with Liz.They'll arrive this afternoon, and Katie will collect them at the station. The portkey is about to activate. I'll see you there…"

Harry suddenly felt the pull of the spell.He couldn't do anything as images of Cedric suddenly popped into his head, and he appeared in the Lupins' back paddock suddenly feeling very shaky. He closed his eyes against the dizziness and the anxiety he felt every time he thought of Cedric and everything that had happened that night. Suddenly though he felt a strong hand gripping his shoulder and opened his eyes to see Sirius smiling at him. 

Sirius looked better than Harry had ever seen him, but since Harry tended to compare him to his memory of what Sirius had looked like the first time they had ever come face to face in the Shrieking Shack, anything was an improvement.Sirius now looked much more like the handsome young man in the photo of Harry's parents wedding, with a few more lines about the face.He kept his hair very short and his face cleanly shaven.His skin no longer looked sallow, and he had filled out, though he was still quite thin, just not an unhealthy thin. Even his eyes, which were still very dark and looked haunted, had more life in them than the last time Harry had seen him.

"Not the best way to travel, I know," he said, giving Harry a look that meant he knew that portkeys gave Harry difficulties, "but definitely the fastest and safest way to get you here.You alright?"

Harry shakily returned his smile."Yeah. It's worth it."

Remus suddenly appeared next to Sirius with a small pop. "Let's get inside shall we? I'm more in favour of chatting in front of the fire than standing in a foot of snow."

Ron grinned. "We finally get to meet Malcolm! Is he awake?Do we get to see him now?"

Sirius laughed."He's up, he's fed, and he's ready for the day."

"Exactly what does a ten week old have on a their agenda, Padfoot?"

"Oh Moony, they have very busy days.Eat, sleep, be adored, spend the afternoon with Padfoot in front of the fire while he's supposed to be working, you know the sort of thing. And of course today has 'meeting new admirers' written in. Big day."

Katie looked up and smiled when they all walked into the kitchen where she was working on several large cauldrons at the fire.

"Welcome back.Have a good Christmas?" She shook their hands in turn when she walked over to them.

"Actually we were too busy looking forward to coming here," laughed Ron. "Christmas was semi-uneventful and quiet."

Remus smiled as he bent down to pick up Malcolm from his bassinet. "Locked in with Fred and George? I find that hard to believe."

"I did say semi-uneventful.Unfortunately, none of the Slytheryns stayed, so Fred and George spent most of the time in the kitchens working on new jokes and spells."

Harry grinned, and stepped closer to Remus to get a look at the baby. "Ginny got _them_, though," he said happily. "That was the highlight of the holidays. They couldn't decide to be proud of her for what she did or furious that they got caught out."

Harry and Ron looked at Malcolm, who quietly and calmly returned their gazes.Harry had never actually been so close to a baby, and was fascinated to note that Malcolm really did look a little like Katie.He'd assumed that Sirius was just exaggerating on that, as he'd always thought that babies must all just look alike, really, until they get a little older.But he definitely had Katie's very dark hair and dark eyes. Ron seemed to agree.

"He really does look like you, Katie," he said, sounding rather surprised as well.Katie laughed. 

"Well, the good news is he seems to have Remus' rather calm demeanour.According to my mother I was not a calm and quiet baby by any stretch of the imagination."

Sirius winked at Harry. "Our little marauder is just biding his time.Da's rather calm demeanour hides a rather different disposition, as we know.And there is nothing so valuable as a marauder who can keep a straight face."

Katie gave him a withering look and turned back to her work."I need to get all this finished before I leave to get Liz and Hermione, so I can get it to Mrs. Noyes.Why not take Malcolm with you when you leave?"

The men obediently left the kitchen.Ron and Harry dropped their bags into their room upstairs before going to join Sirius and Remus in Remus' study.Harry loved this room, and found it fascinating.Bookshelves covered about half of the room from floor to ceiling, and the tomes on them were wonderfully eclectic.Lots of Dark Arts, but also lots of interesting histories, charms texts, and a few muggle novels Remus found interesting.Harry had borrowed a few of those over the years, mostly titles he recognized but never read.'Bleak House' was a bit much to get through but he had found to his annoyance that once he started it he couldn't stoop reading it and had to find out what happened.'Kidnapped' was much better as was 'Interview with a Vampire'; actually that one had been both amusing and vaguely disturbing.He and Remus speculated that the author probably really did know a vampire, but might not realize it. 

Harry and Ron dropped happily into the large overstuffed chairs Remus kept in front of the fireplace, which was blazing.The desk and worktable were, as usual, covered with fascinating looking parchments. _Probably all for the wellspring problem. That one of a spell circle looks particularly intense…. That must be the actual spell they're working on. And that's Liz's counter spell._

Harry was anxious to see Liz again.He'd only spoken to her a few times in passing when they met at the end of the summer while Harry spent his last three days before school started here. But she had proven to be a valuable asset to Sirius and Remus, and Sirius had confessed to Harry that he had become very attached to her.That made Harry happy and anxious at the same time._What's he going to do?He can't just sort of settle down or anything.He's hardly a catch; maybe she's just caught up in the moment or something.Living under the same roof now, but when this is over, off she goes. That's not fair._

Harry suddenly realized he was scowling, and quickly changed his expression and turned to face Sirius who was settled on the couch next to Remus, watching Malcolm. He was about to say something when Ron suddenly spoke up.

"Remus?Um, would it be all right if I held Malcolm for a moment?I've never actually held a baby, you know." Ron looked a little flushed as he said this, and Harry looked at him in surprise.Ron was the last person he would have thought would ask this. While he himself was intrigued by the baby, and happy for Remus, he had no desire at all to actually hold him._He's just a little too small for my liking.I'll wait till he gets older, maybe._

Remus happily stood up and brought the baby over to Ron."Simple stuff, Ron.Just hold your arm out at an angle, yes that's it.Make sure you hold his head up like this.All there is to it."

Ron looked delighted to be holding the baby and he grinned at Harry. "Not so difficult this; and no fuss."

Sirius chuckled."Malcolm's like you were, Harry; he doesn't seem to mind being passed back and forth between people.I remember a cousin I had who, as a baby, refused to be held peacefully by anyone other than their mum and dad. Not very social at all, and a noisy houseguest. You, though, would happily move between anyone who was about."

"Did I cry a lot or anything?"

"Hardly ever, actually," said Remus, smiling at him. "You would fuss if you were put out by something, but rarely outright cried.Your dad said it was obvious that you'd inherited your mum's temper and rather excellent ability to get exactly what she wanted when she put her foot down."

"Only with James, of course," said Sirius.

"Oh, of course.She didn't have all three of us wrapped around her little finger by any stretch of the imagination," said Remus dryly with an amused expression.

***

Later that afternoon Harry had his first chance to be alone with Sirius.Remus went upstairs to take a nap, still tired from the previous night's full moon, and had taken Malcolm with him.Katie left to drive into town, deliver her potions to Mrs. Noyes and then collect Liz and Hermione at the station.Ron had offered to go with her, making a fuss about helping her with the large number of bottles she was taking to the appocothrey, but Harry knew better, and he didn't want to say anything unless it put Ron off and then he wasn't going to get any time at all with Sirius.

They went to Sirius' own study to talk.Smaller and cosier than Remus', Harry was surprised that Sirius had actually painted it yellow, and had covered the chairs in white. Sirius smiled.

"I found it easier to work with everything being very bright.Too many years in the dark, you know."

"How are you doing, anyway?"Harry had already assured Sirius three times that he himself was doing well; Harry had learned from experience that in the rare occasions Sirius repeated himself it usually meant that he was preoccupied with something and brooding about it.Sirius looked at him sideways for a moment, then sighed and sat down.

"We had a bad time of it at Malfoy's.We decided not to tell you until you got here, though, and could see that we really were all right. We got what we needed, though, so now it's a matter of figuring out how the hell we're going to really get into that camp and what we're going to do once we succeed.None of us want to make this a suicide mission."

"Don't even joke about that, Sirius," scowled Harry.Harry constantly dreamed of a time when Sirius would truly be free, that Voldemort would truly be gone, and they could all just get on with their lives.All of them.

"I'm not joking. You're old enough to know and understand everything that's happening.Most of it centres around you anyway, and I'm not going to insult you by pretending that's it's not as serious as is truly is.It's still nothing like it was, but that's going to change.When Remus and I, and everyone else who ever united against Voldemort, took on the responsibility for doing whatever we could to stop this, we took on _every _responsibility. If that means doing something potentially fatal, and it usually does, then so be it."

Harry glared at the floor.He knew that there were still things that Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore kept from him.Every few months something else would be revealed, usually after someone else had tried to kill him, and it was unnerving.He couldn't help thinking, listening to Sirius, that someday it really was going to be him that might be the one who didn't come back. _The Boy Who Lived indeed.Now it's the Boy Who's Got to Finish What His Parents Started. _He said nothing, though, as making such statements was a guarantee that he would infuriate Sirius, who always seemed to be worried that Harry was going to run off and do something stupid for the wrong reasons.He reminded himself again that this was not because Sirius considered him an idiot, but because Sirius didn't want him dead.

"What did happen at the Malfoy's, then?"

Sirius gave him another sideways glance, and this time a small smile."Later.All three of you need to hear about it and I'm not saying anything without Remus to back me up."

"That sounds like I'm not going to like it.Malfoy plotting to kill me again? He hasn't managed to so far.Did you see Draco?Let me guess, he was hosting a meeting of Young Death Eaters and torturing animals."

Sirius shook his head. "And I thought nobody would ever dislike anyone more than I hated Snape when I was at Hogwarts."

Harry gave a small laugh. Then added, "I can't believe Dumbledore made him a Prefect."

"Someone's got to do it. Obviously Draco has superb grades on top of being a superb ass."

"Well, whenever he really bothers me I just picture that glorious time Barty Crouch turned him into a ferret and bounced him all over the entry hall.Pity McGonagal put a stop to it, actually."

Sirius now looked him right in the eye with an oddly closed expression."Has Draco been giving you extra trouble this year, at all?"

Harry was surprised by the question."Actually, um, we seem to see a little less of him than we used to.Except Hermione, of course, but she says he just ignores her more than anything else.But on the occasions when he does choose to pick at something he's his usual nasty self.He's still rude to Hagrid and of course Snape is constantly holding him up as a shining example of behaviour. Ron told Dean that he'd better get his grades up even more to beat out Draco, because if Hermione is Head Girl and Draco is Head Boy the school might not survive. What he meant was that he wouldn't survive, but he's still a little, well, closed on that subject."

Sirius had to smile now."Those two still dancing around the obvious? Take my advice on this one; after living under this roof watching Remus and Katie tread on eggshells for over a year, I suggest that you just continue to keep out of it and try not to let it drive you crazy. It'll work out.Look at the Lupins now, right?"

Harry smiled."Since we're on this subject, I have to say I'm very interested in seeing Liz again, after your last letter."

Sirius sighed, which surprised Harry."What?I thought you and she were…."

"We are, we are.But it's complicated, you well know.I feel guilty over it all, really. Obviously we're not running around doing anything rash, but even taking tiny steps down this road seems dangerous with my current situation.I shouldn't even be in this house, you know, let alone in England at all; at any moment I may very well not be. Remus has had to lie outright to members of the Ministry who have come here on several occasions.I can't walk beyond the front gate without risking anyone seeing me.As long as I'm behind the wards, I'm reasonably safe, but still.I don't even go out as Padfoot anymore…"

"Why not?Everyone knows that Remus Lupin owns a large black dog that he brings with him to League meetings sometimes."

Sirius now looked miserable."I haven't told Liz about it.She has no idea I'm an illegal animagus.So no Padfoot when she's around. Dumbledore never actually told her the details of how my innocence was established, he just told her she was coming to work with us and that I was innocent and Remus was harmless.She just took him on his word, of course.Pretty trusting of her, to move into a house with a convicted murderer and a werewolf, simply on someone's word."

"I think Dumbledore's word carries a bit of weight."

"Indeed it does, with the right people. Katie knew all about it because Remus told her.But he'd known her for years and they were already deeply involved with each other, whether they admitted it or not at the time, so he had no hesitations in telling her.She scared me out of my wits when I first met her and she knew exactly who I was, but Remus was right to do it.Now I feel like a heel for not having told Liz."

Harry shook his head."I don't think so. Really, you've only known her a few months anyway.Just tell her now; now you know you can trust her."

Sirius shook his head."Actually, the bigger problem is that I'm not sure I want to tell her just yet. This is, well, the last chance I have if anything goes wrong. For whatever reason Wormtail still hasn't let on about it with the Death Eaters; we'd know if he had and certainly it would have shown up in the Daily Prophet.And the only other people who know aren't telling."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.Harry didn't know what to say to Sirius, and Sirius seemed lost in his own thoughts as he stood up and stared absently out the window.Finally Sirius looked back at him.

"Think she's going to be upset I kept this from her?" Sirius asked in a slightly tense tone.

Harry just shrugged. "I think she'll understand; it's made all the difference for you, hasn't it? Just try not to scare her when you do decide to tell her by suddenly looming out of a dark alleyway or something."

Sirius did laugh at this and shook his head.

"I apologized for that.You were not supposed to see me. Or at the Quiddich match, but I couldn't resist having the chance to see you play. I'd overheard McGonagal and Flitwick talking about how you were just as good as James one night in Hogsmead when I was lurking near the door of the Three Broomsticks to try and hear about anything that was going on. I was so proud to hear that you were an excellent Quiddich player, just like James.But I did get payback that day, for scaring you, you know. After you spotted me, and I turned to flee, I suddenly saw Remus standing there with McGonagal.I had no idea he was there, and that just about did me in on the spot. Of course I was very happy to see him that first instant, to know he was alright, at least. Then I suddenly thought that maybe he had told Dumbledore the whole story, and that's why he was there to begin with."

"But he didn't."

Sirius sighed and sat back down in the chair across from Harry.

"No. He **was** at Hogwarts because of me, of course, but…. I actually felt ashamed that night in the shack when he told you the entire story, and admitted that he had not; and why he hadn't.Ashamed that once again I doubted Remus, even though deep down I knew better. We all promised, when we did decided to do the spell, never to tell."Sirius gave a small smile."Of course we were twelve at the time and failed to realize that, well, _significant others_ so to speak were going to come into the picture.We made a caveat to the promise when James decided he had to tell Lily." He winked at Harry. "Thought I certainly didn't think Dumbledore had qualified for the caveat."

His expression became grave again."We made that promise for a reason, you know.Not because we were doing something illegal, but because we never wanted people to know why we'd done it.We did it to help Remus, not bring him more grief.People would, most likely, suddenly overlook what we'd done, of our own volition mind you, and all blame would turn to Remus.'Look at that – these poor innocent boys tricked into doing something that might kill them by a dangerous, untrustworthy dark creature.' That was always his concern.You heard it yourself, that night.He was upset that Dumbledore would be angry that he had 'led fellow students' to do something dangerous."

Harry looked at Sirius, who had the familiar dark expression he wore when he was upset.Sirius stopped talking and glared at the fire, absently tapping one finger on the armrest of his chair.

"Sirius?"

Sirius turned to look at him, but his expression remained grave, and he had a far off look in his eyes.

"You never have actually told me how you came up with the idea to become animagi."Sirius did smile slightly at this, but turned to look into the fire again.

"Your father came up with it one day during DADA. James was obsessed with finding some way to help Remus.He was very determined when it came to solving problems and helping his friends.After we confronted Remus and he confessed to us what was going on, James took the lead in trying to do something for our friend, who certainly was no dark creature."

Sirius chuckled absently and shook his head. "Oh, we were so damn smart, Harry. Forget centuries of research, forget Remus' mum and dad who had devoted their lives to trying to help Remus, and forget the fact that we were 12. James pointed out that it was no good he and I being top of our year if we couldn't figure out something for this."

"At first we focused on seeing if there was any way to cure him, but the only 'solutions' we found seemed too vague or too dangerous.Just superstitions, really, nothing we would ever risk because most of them involved shooting arrows through him or what have you.It was depressing, actually.All we could find was a lot of information on how and why we should be trying to kill Remus, not cure him.Then we did dark creatures in DADA, and learned at least one piece of useful information during the miserably long double session we spent on werewolves.Because it's a human curse, werewolves only curse other humans when they bite, not animals…."

Harry sat back contentedly to listen to the whole story._I love hearing these stories.I always feel closer to my parents, knowing the things they knew._

***

Sirius knew that Remus had been a little more on edge since he, James and Peter had figured it all out and confronted him with it.He seemed to always be waiting for someone else to do the same thing; someone who wasn't his friend.Sirius was finally beginning to appreciate how hard it was for Remus living with the constant nagging fear that he would be exposed and publicly denounced and dismissed at best. At worst, people would actually want to _kill _him. It just made them all the more determined to do something good for Remus

None of them were looking forward to DADA that afternoon. Professor Macmillan had announced last session when he wrapped up vampires that they would do werewolves during their next class. Remus had told them that Macmillan knew about him, and had helped Dumbledore determine how Remus might in fact be able to come to the school.Sirius knew that they couldn't just not do werewolves, but he thought that he was barely going to be able to sit through the class, and couldn't imagine how Remus felt.As they turned to go down the hall to the classroom, Sirius suddenly stopped.

"Why don't you just skip this one, Remus, say you don't feel well. I doubt Macmillan will say anything."

Remus considered this tantamount to a public confession. James told Sirius to stop being an idiot and they went to class.

Professor Macmillan spoke about werewolves in the same dry tones he talked about everything else, but Sirius was on edge with every word. Did people notice that Macmillan did not ask his star second year any questions all period, or indeed didn't seem to even look at Remus for more than a second? Sirius knew he was just being paranoid at this point, especially when James gave him a particularly murderous glance one time when Sirius made a small sound of protest as Macmillan described werewolves as one of the most deadly and vicious of all dark creatures. Sirius carefully put on the expression he wore for lying to his parents and his teachers and sat still, listening to Macmillan in the distance.

"Lycanthropy is a very complex and very old curse.It is first written about in the 5th century BC, and obviously the spell had been perfected before then. It even appears in muggle mythology, originally in the tale of a Roman solider who was returning to camp one night with one of his comrades who had insulted a local healer that day. They were attacked by a very large wolf, which bit the solider that had insulted the healer and left. The solider lived, but was transformed into a huge savage wolf at the next full moon. Eventually he was hunted down and killed, after he had killed a large number of young girls.Muggle myths concerning most dark creatures are inaccurate and rather too fantastic, given muggles' rather hysteric response to things they do not understand, as you remember from our discussion of their belief that sunlight destroys vampires.A muggle novelist made that up, as you recall. Ms. Evans, do sit up and try to give the impression that you are listening to me."

"There are dark wizards who deliberately become werewolves.This gives them the strength, speed and senses of the wolf, and gives them the power to curse others deliberately through their bite. It is believed by some that a human who was turned into a werewolf through a bite can be cured if the original wolf is destroyed, and only if they themselves have never bitten anyone. This claim has never been satisfactorily proven, however."

Macmillan turned to the board, and started to write out an incantation. "This is the first stanza of the curse that is used to deliberately transform a human into a werewolf. Notice that the language specifies that the human blood is what is in fact cursed directly, as the life force that feeds the human body.For this reason, the curse only targets human blood.What does this mean, Mr. Black?"

Sirius had carefully said nothing all day, a record for him.But called on, he had to respond."The curse only affects humans, because only humans have, um, human blood."That sounded silly even to his ears.

"Correct.Werewolves will feed off of other animals, just as a wolf does, but if they simply injure an animal that is successful in escaping the attack, that animal will not be affected.But humans who are bitten, and who survive, are impacted.This is intended by the curse. The purpose is not simply to turn someone into a wolf; it is to turn them into a damnation, a monster that in turn inflicts the curse on others. It is a very … ingenious… curse. Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"What about animagi?What if a werewolf bites a wizard or witch in an animagi form?Will they be cursed?"

"Excellent question.What do you think?"

"Well, an animagus is a human who assumes an animal shape.But Professor McGonagal said that in fact the individual does become that creature, while keeping a sense of self.That's what allows them to turn back.So, it would seem, I think, that an animagus wouldn't be impacted by the bite."

"Correct.Five points for Griffyndor. One of the most effective ways to kill a werewolf is to attack them as an animagus. The werewolf must battle without magic, although it still has the advantages of strength and endurance, so the animagus must be an animal strong enough to take on an enraged wolf. One of the most successful werewolf hunters in history was Caldish Campbell, a wolf animagus who lived in Ireland in the 1600s."

Sirius looked at James, who was focusing very hard on his parchment and trying not to smile._What? _He turned instead to look at Remus, who was carefully looking at the same spot above the blackboard he had focused on all class with a very blank expression on his pale face.Finally Remus felt Sirius looking at him and reluctantly shifted his gaze to regard Sirius quietly out of the corner of his eye.Sirius gave him the slightest of smiles, just to reassure him, and was happy to see Remus at least give a tiny almost imperceptible nod back to him. _We're still your friends, Remus._

Thankfully DADA was the last class of the day.James practically ran back to the tower, pulling Remus, Sirius and Peter with him. He shoved them upstairs to their dorm room, and after making sure Houghton and Scott were not following them, shut the door and grinned at his friends.

"So that's it. That's what we can do. We'll become animagi, then we can be with you, Remus, and you can't hurt us. We can't cure you, I'm still not giving up on that, but at least we can stay with you. This is perfect!"

Remus looked rather concerned."James; that's …well it's too dangerous.Too much can go wrong…."

"You heard Macmillan, you can't curse us…."

"Not that, with the spell.There's a reason it's illegal to do this without permission, you know.And only adult trained wizards can do it anyway."

Sirius clipped him on the shoulder."Remus! James is right, this is perfect and I promise we'll be very careful."

"You're too young, they won't allow it!And besides, they'd ask you why you were doing it!"

Sirius and James grinned."Who said anything about telling anyone about it?This is for you, Remus, you're the only one who matters here."

Remus looked at them silently.Sirius could tell he was, as usual, running calmly through all the possibilities this idea put forward, good and bad. 

"We can do it, Remus.We can do this for you." Said Peter, quietly."I think it's a really good idea, actually."

"See?Even Peter thinks it's a good idea.Course he always agrees with James," Sirius teased softly, and Peter just smiled quietly.

"It's going to take as a long time to even get the spell, let alone learn it and make the potion.So we're hardly doing anything rash, especially for us," grinned James, thrilled that he had finally found something that he could do."Give us the word, Remus."

Remus finally, after a long silence, nodded softly."But you can never, ever tell anyone.You can't risk anyone finding out what you're doing.We'll all be in trouble, and you could get expelled."

Sirius grinned as well. "We're always in trouble anyway, or practically always.But I promise to keep this a secret."

"I promise, too," said Peter.

James had a look of triumph on his face."Then we agree.I feel like celebrating. Let's go down to the dungeons and fill the Slytheryn common room fire with smoke bombs that are set to go off just after they all get back from dinner."

"James," said Remus, smiling but sounding a little stressed still, "that's been done.And the silver still looks good from when we finished cleaning it last week."

"That's the beauty of it.We'll be the last people they suspect.Everyone will assume we learned our lesson then."

***

"Did you get in trouble for setting off the smoke bombs?"

"No.James was right, although McGonagal seemed to give us a few extra hard looks. It remains another marauder mystery. We made up for it that weekend, though, when we did get caught hexing the Slytheryn's Quiddich robes so they oozed a rather foul smelling goo as soon as you took them more than ten feet off the ground. That one remains one of my all time favourites, and I was proud to take the detention because everyone knew exactly who did that.We were actually congratulated, well out of any professor's earshot of course, by members of all the other houses at one point or another."

"And three years later, you figured it all out."

"Yes.But let me say this, and this must be a sign of how old and responsible I'm getting.It was very complicated, and it was very, very dangerous.Drinking the potion and getting used to the transformation was a very unpleasant experience.Your father and I actually spent a few days in the hospital wing. Remus was beside himself, thinking that we'd never snap out of it and it was all his fault.But we finally adjusted and everything was okay.I don't want you to ever, _ever_, even consider doing it. I feel safe in assuming that while James would be very proud of you for following in his footsteps as a Quiddich whiz, he'd not want you to try this. So please, just don't."

Harry smiled and shook his head. "Actually, it never even crossed my mind.I don't have the kind of motivation you did for even thinking about it. I have enough excitement in my life with out deliberately trying to do dangerous things."

"Good.Listen, there's Katie coming back.Let's go say hello to Liz and Hermione, shall we?"

"You are going to tell us about everything at dinner now that everyone's here, right?" Harry asked, rather anxiously.Obviously something had happened, and bigger things were about to._I hate being left out of this.He's not the only one who worries._

Sirius smiled and put an arm around Harry's shoulders as they walked out the door."Can't it wait a few days?Let's just have fun tonight.We'll have an exploding snap contest; Remus and I are still up on you three from last summer."

"How about you challenge Ron to another chess match? That would be entertaining to watch."

"No, thank you. Learned that lesson. My humility is not up to it."


	4. Veritas 9

****

Veritas 9

****

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Here's my Mea Culpa. I basically got burned out (at work, not at writing) & let a few nasty comments totally p*** me off one day, so that's why I took everything down. I'm touched and happy that there are any number of you who enjoy these stories, so I ask you to forgive my boorish tantrum & continue to enjoy them.

Umm, and here's the gruesome confession – I actually don't have copies of the earlier pieces of Veritas. If anyone has any of them, please let me know – I'll be happy to put them back up, now that I am over my nervous breakdown. Five weeks of 20 hour days is not a recommended way to live one's life. _Ahem_. I'll get 'This Was Falling' back up (Thanks to Princess Emma!) this weekend. I'll make a few corrections & put all 4 pieces up as one monster piece. I don't have all of On Flying. Again, if you have it, let me know. I will 'back engineer' that one, if I find the time.

So all my focus will be one taking this one forward – it's got a while to go. Okay? I could start at the beginning again, but it would be different, I'm sure. No more fits, I promise. I don't think you'll lose anything of the plot not having read the first bits (if you didn't). See the synopsis in Veritas 8B for a quick 'where are we'. 

***

Sirius knew he'd been sulking, really, but couldn't stop himself. Too much was starting to come together, and more was at stake. Malcolm's arrival had made him feel an even greater sense of urgency, no doubt from the anxiety he felt over everything that had happened when Harry was so small. So much had happened since then, but now they seemed to be right back where they started, and it was depressing. He was different than he had been then, too. Young, invincible and so right, not having any idea how bad _bad_ could really be. Sirius vaguely remembered being that person; but he was very changed, and knew how badly all of this could turn out.

But he was determined to snap out of it. _Brooding and feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to solve anything, and it just might make you do something stupid. Again._ He really was happy to have Harry, Ron and Hermione here with them. He was grateful to even be here himself. Staying with Remus had been wonderful; he'd tried to leave, every time Remus finished lying to a member of the Ministry, denying he knew anything of Sirius' whereabouts. They didn't really suspect that Remus was helping him, knowing the 'truth' of their history together, rather they seemed more concerned that Sirius might just kill Remus for the hell of it, having missed the opportunity all those years ago. _Idiots._

Remus refused to let Sirius leave. "You will only leave this house if you are free or if you absolutely must. I'll put a binding spell on you if you force me to, but I will not have you living in caves starving to death while I have anything to say about it. You need to be here. We need to finish what we started."

And now Liz was back. He walked out to the drive with Harry to meet her and Hermione, who had just arrived with Katie. He knew he was grinning like an idiot. At least, reasonably sure of it after Harry gave him a jab in the ribs.

"Hello, Hermione," he called, ignoring Harry, "have a good Christmas?"

"Hello, Sirius. Yes, lovely, thank you. Where's Malcolm?"

Katie looked soberly at Sirius. "It didn't occur to me that I was being cruel not bringing him," she said with mock solemnity.

"I didn't say 'cruel', Katie," Hermione chided her. "But not very forward thinking of you."

Sirius shook his head. "It wouldn't have mattered. He's taking a nap, actually. At least Remus is, and Malcolm does tend to doze with him, so you'll have to wait a bit, sorry." Then he turned to Liz, and took her hand. "Welcome back. We missed you."

Liz just smiled and squeezed his hand before he dropped it to pick up her bags. "Hello, Harry; good to see you again."

"Liz. Nice to see you again, too."

They all walked into the house. Hermione and Katie went first, talking about some sort of potion brewing problem, Ron and Harry following with Ron telling Hermione to please stop talking about school work during their last week of freedom, and finally Sirius and Liz walked in together slowly. Katie and the others went into the kitchen.

"I'm starving," Sirius heard Hermione say. He looked at Liz.

"Hungry?"

She just smiled and started up the stairs. "Not just yet, actually. I've eaten enough over the past 10 days to see me through a few missed meals. I'll just unpack."

"Need any help?"

She stopped and turned to face him on the stairs. "No. But I wouldn't mind some company."

He couldn't resist. He just stepped up on the stair and gave her a small kiss. Sirius was very happy to have her back. _She's only been gone for 10 days, to spend the holidays in London with her former in-laws, and to see her old friends, but it seemed like months. What the hell am I going to do when she leaves for good?_

Liz smiled at him then continued up the stairs. He put he bags down next to the wardrobe in her room.

"Did you have a good time?" he asked sitting on her bed to watch while she unpacked. Liz grinned at him.

"It's always fun to get back with that rowdy crowd and raise Cain, thank you. Don't look at me like that, I can definitely cause a ruckus if I'm so inclined, Mr. Black."

"But you're so calm and polite with us, Miss Harker," he said grinning up at her while she passed. "I would never have guessed."

"Remus doesn't strike me as the type who'd be given to having an occasional booze-up and naughty party games contest in the parlour."

"Remus has a few tales to tell, Miss Harker, trust me. And just what naughty party games are you referring to?"

She laughed at him. "A few highly entertaining muggle games we learned at University. The sort of thing you should never do after you get out of university, actually."

"Too old for fun, is that it?"

"Technically you're supposed to be old enough to know better at that point, I think."

"That's no excuse."

"Oh, I know, Mr. Black," she winked at him.

***

Despite his earlier feelings of unease, after a few days Sirius was in the best mood he'd been in for a long time. He still had nightmares, he still was a wanted man, Voldemort was still quietly growing more and more powerful, but at this particular moment, he decided to just indulge in not thinking about any of that. The house was packed again with the people he cared most about, spirits were high, and the adults were up three to two in their ongoing snowball fights. Katie wasn't one for being outside getting quietly soaked to the skin, but Liz had turned out to be an enthusiastic participant. And a master strategist. _Well, she's a Ravenclaw, I should have expected that. The Gryffindor boys are much more in favour of the direct frontal assault._

A few days after everyone had arrived, Sirius and Liz decided to take a walk one evening while the rest of the household became very involved in a rather lively game of cards. Sirius, though happier, was too restless to sit through it. Remus took him aside after dinner, noticing that he had been fidgeting, and suggested that he take Liz to get some air.

"Am I making you nervous, Moony?" he teased, but his heart wasn't in it.

"No," said Remus quietly, "but you seem preoccupied with something. I'm not sure what, but you haven't said anything to me. So talk to Liz. Maybe it has something to do with her?"

"Maybe. Maybe it's just a little something to do with everything," sighed Sirius. 

"I know the feeling. But right now, just enjoy taking a walk. Won't solve any big problems, but it can offer a _little _solace, Padfoot," he smiled.

"Can I take Malcolm with us?" grinned Sirius, winking at him.

"Suddenly overcome your fear that the boy will freeze to death if you take him outside? No. He stays with us. No distractions."

Liz was happy to join him; they walked out the back paddock to the meadow. It was the only place beyond the house Sirius ever risked being out in undisguised. He conjured three little balls of blue flame so they could see, and sent them floating quietly out over the snow in front of them. He took Liz's hand and they walked on in a companionable silence for a while. Finally, Liz stopped to look at him.

"I take it from your rather subdued mood that you and Remus still aren't looking forward to telling the younger set everything that happened."

"No. Neither of us is looking forward to this."

She looked at him quietly. "Remus did say that we'd have a tough time convincing them what happened with Draco."

Sirius sighed loudly, and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "To be honest, I won't blame them if they don't believe us. We aren't certain that Draco was acting of his own volition. We just, well, feel like he was. Snape was not much help, but he did say that he trusted Draco implicitly. But that's the problem. Once again, we're rapidly getting to a point where you don't know who you can trust. I'm still furious that Snape tipped Malfoy off, even making sure that Draco was there to set us free. I understand why he did it, I know how valuable his cover is with the Death Eaters, but Remus really didn't need the experience. Malfoy was just a little too brutal in what he said and did. I don't give a damn what he does to me…. I don't want to go back there, Liz. The consequences of what happened last time were too terrible. I don't think I could stand it if anything…."

She silenced him with a shake of her head. "Sirius, none of us want this. To be honest, I feel better and safer right here than I ever felt then. Maybe it's because now I'm actually doing something, not just hearing things."

"It's nowhere near what it was like before. But that doesn't mean it won't…."

"That it won't get worse. I know." 

Sirius looked at her quietly. Her pale hair glowed blue from the fireballs and he had to smile.

"Liz? You really like it here? I've been worried that maybe you felt, trapped, I guess. You don't have to stay here. You could apparate home every night if you really wanted. Just because I can't go anywhere doesn't mean you can't." The last part came out a little more bitter than he intended, and he looked at her apologetically. Liz smiled slightly.

"That seems a lot of bother and it would wear me out. Besides, we hardly keep regular hours on this little project, do we? I have much better access to everything I need to make the counter spell here than in my London flat, anyway. And…." She stopped, suddenly.

Liz broke his gaze and turned instead to look back at the house. Sirius couldn't read her expression, but he did hear her laugh quietly. "I originally agreed to come stay here while we worked on this problem because Malcolm was due in a few weeks and Remus preferred to stay at home, correct?"

"Yes. That was wonderful of you, you know. It made all the difference to Remus. That was a very important time for him. And Katie."

"I know. Of course, you were pretty happy to stick near the house, too," she smiled. "And it is much easier to get our work done with all of us here together."

"You like being woken up in the middle of the night because Remus just figured something out that for some inexplicable reason couldn't wait till dawn?"

"I like knowing I'm doing something important. Anyway, I guess I just got used to being here. Malcolm is almost three months old, and I'm still here. And I'll stay until this is solved, like I promised Dumbledore."

Sirius looked at her, but she did not return his gaze. _This is not the conversation I thought we'd have. Neither of us is going to talk about what we really need to. Eventually this will be over, and then what? _

"Liz?" he whispered.

She finally looked at him. He wasn't sure what her quiet expression meant.

"I'll miss you."

With that she finally stepped over and wrapped her arms around him. 

"I just told you. I'm not going anywhere just yet, Mr. Black." She whispered in return.

***

The next day was New Year's Eve; Harry Ron and Hermione had three more days before they had to go back for the start of term. Harry asked Sirius that morning when they would finally hear some details about where Remus, Liz and Sirius were in solving the mystery of the Death Eaters' encampment.

"You've put us off for four days now. Enough. You promised that you'd tell us when we were all here. We've all been here for a while now…."

Sirius held up a hand to silence him. 

"Harry, after dinner. I promise."

Not wanting to get into an argument, and Harry's expression suggested that what was most likely to happen if they continued their conversation, Sirius went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Katie, Liz and Hermione were all busy working on dinner.

"You cook, Hermione?"

"Hardly anything spectacular. But I'm good at following instructions. Fear not, Katie is in charge, and the meal will be lovely."

Sirius grinned. "Why is it just you three making dinner? Where's Remus?"

Katie smiled at him. "We're happy to do this ourselves, thank you. Remus is in his study with Ron and Malcolm."

Sirius laughed. "I never figured Ron would be my number one contender for the title of 'Malcolm's biggest fan'. He's grown rather attached to him, hasn't he."

"Now Sirius, Ron just went with Remus to get some extra help with his DADA homework," Hermione said with a grin. "Malcolm's got nothing to do with it."

"Oh is that what he said? I don't know Hermione, Malcolm seems to be giving Ron ideas…."

"Sirius…." said Katie, in a dangerous low tone near his left ear.

"Katie-girl? Can I do something for you?"

"Behave yourself, or leave." She winked at him.

Sirius took a seat under the window well out of the way of the work. He'd actually had little opportunity to talk to Hermione at all, and Sirius found her rather fascinating. She had changed considerably from when he'd first met her; she was definitely more relaxed and had started to show a strong streak of good humour that had been hidden under her seriousness for a long time. _Funny, Harry thought her being named a Prefect would make her more uptight, but the opposite is proving true. Wonder how that happened._

"Are you enjoying being a Prefect, Hermione?"

"I'm not sure one _enjoys _being a Prefect, Sirius. It's a little intimidating actually. The underclassmen treat me like I have the answers to everything, which I don't, no matter what Ron and Harry say, and my peers seem to feel the need to …test my resolve to my responsibilities."

Sirius laughed. "Ah yes. I seem to remember relishing testing James' resolve. He was horrified when Dumbledore named him a Prefect."

"I appreciate the dilemma. But sometimes…."

"Even your best friends go to far, I know. James turned me in on three separate occasions, actually. And even Remus, once."

Liz laughed. "Let me guess, he was with you."

"No, actually. To this day I have no idea what he was doing out of bounds, though I have some suspicions."

Katie turned to him with a very amused expression. "Why Sirius, am I to understand that I know a marauder mystery you don't?"

"You know? What happened? Neither of them would talk!"

"No."

"Katie-girl! After all we've been through! You can't leave me like this…."

"Sorry; promised. Remus holds more sway with me than you do, that's just the simple fact of it."

"Just because you've 'pledged your troth' to the man? Come on; I'll tell you what I think it was and you just say yes or no."

"No, Sirius. You are seconds away from being excused from the kitchen for the rest of the day."

Liz winked at him. "Don't push it."

Sirius stood up. "Fine. I get this message. I'll just go join Remus and enlist Ron's help in my anti-Flich lessons with the little marauder," he grinned at Katie as he left.

"Sirius, as soon as Malcolm learns to talk, you may never speak to him again," Katie called after him.

***

The dinner was wonderful, and everyone was in high spirits. Finally they retired to the front room to wait for midnight, and Remus started to tell the story of what had happened at Malfoy Manor.

"Harry, we borrowed your cloak, obviously, to get inside the house. Malfoy hosts a sizeable ball, with a very diverse guest list, every year. Part of his 'good member of the community' persona. Snape provided us with a diagram of the house, so we could find the family shrine. We had to avoid the main rooms because we couldn't pass down the Grand Gallery, which was the fastest way to the shrine."

"Why?" asked Ron.

"Malfoy's enchanted the mirrors in there, something we let your dad know," said Sirius. "They compel anyone who looks into them to reveal the purpose of their visit to the house. He did it after the last raid on the house. Seems he was more than a little put out by that. Now if anyone comes looking, he knows what they're looking for."

Remus resumed the story. "We slipped in when one of the guests was leaving, and found the shrine. Luckily we were able to get the charms on the shrine down relatively quickly. Once inside, we collected ash from the hearth stone. And, Sirius realised that the earth in the spell must come from the old well the hearthstone covered."

Harry Ron and Hermione exchanged puzzled looks.

Liz explained, "There was no obvious mention of any water in the incantation that made the spell circle guarding the entrance to the cave under the camp. Odd, but not unheard of in earth magic. But Malfoy didn't need to name the water, because it was hidden in the earth. If we had gone ahead with just using some earth from the grounds, it would not have been as strong and the counter spell might not work. You know that to do a successful counter spell you have to balance all of the elements. We would have been an element short."

"Then what," asked Harry.

Sirius grimaced. "Then we were almost out the door when I saw something flash out of the corner of my eye. Next thing I knew, Malfoy was right there, and could see us. He cursed us, and when we woke up, we were trapped in a holding spell inside of a large empty room in another part of the house. Malfoy was thrilled of course, he had Sirius Black. Could hardly wait to get me down to Fudge. We had an, unpleasant, conversation with Malfoy," he saw Remus blanch a bit out of the corner of his eye, then return Katie's quick reassuring smile quietly; "but he didn't know exactly why we were there. He seemed to think we were gate crashing, trying to spy on his more interesting guests."

Sirius paused for a moment, running his hands through his hair. _This is getting close now._

"The good news was at least that we haven't been detected at the hidden camp. At least it was worth it because on top of getting cursed we ended up dropping 10 feet of the edge of a cliff and sliding down the mountainside in the snow; that broke a few things."

Harry spoke up again. "Wait, how did you get out, then?

Sirius looked at Remus and raised an eyebrow. _It's now or never; Harry isn't going to like this at all._

Remus decided to take the plunge. "We were let go, actually. By Draco," he said in his calmest, most even tone.

There was an unpleasant silence. Sirius looked at Liz, who sat still, waiting to see what would happen. After a long moment, Sirius decided to continue but before he could say anything, Ron beat him to it.

"Bollocks!"

"Ron! Why on earth would Remus lie about it? And watch your language!" said Hermione.

Ron glared at her. "Get off it, Hermione!" Then he turned to look at Sirius and Remus. "Draco let you go? He must have been put up to it. You were wrong, Malfoy _is_ on to you, and they let you go deliberately, to see what you are going to do."

Remus shook his head. "Ron, Malfoy had us right there. There was no reason at all to let us go, and he made it very clear that he had no such intentions. If he knew we had been in the wellspring, he would have said something. To gloat he'd got the best of us, no doubt."

"You expect us to sit here and believe that Draco, the same Draco who has been so wretched and evil to us over the last few years, suddenly decided to…to…I can't even say it. If I'm going to believe anything it's that Draco was forced to do this. To prove himself worthy of Voldemort's inner circle or something."

"No, Ron. Draco was acting of his own volition on this one. It would appear that he is actually working with Snape. At great risk to himself, I should add."

Sirius risked a glance at Harry, who looked as angry as Ron sounded. Hermione was actually looking rather calm, and seemed more worried that Ron was so upset that he'd gone a dangerous shade of red.

"Look," said Remus, in the steely tone Sirius recognised as meaning he'd had enough and was going to end the conversation now. "We know that he wasn't in fact punished for what happened. I think it's safe to assume that if they were using Draco as a decoy that Lucius would make certain that word somehow reached us that Draco had in fact been disciplined for what happened, in order to make us sympathetic towards him."

Harry ignored the tone. "How can you be so sure?" he asked, in an equally tight voice.

Sirius sighed. "We lost your cloak, Harry, when we were captured."

"I _have _my cloak, Sirius."

"You do now because Draco returned it to us. Seems his father had given it to him as a Christmas present. Do you honestly think Draco would do something like that for any reason other than to show us that he is in fact honest in his intentions?"

Harry now looked stunned. "So you think that Draco is trustworthy because he sent back the cloak? That's it?"

"No, not entirely. You were not in that room, and you did not see Draco. I realise that this is rather difficult to accept, considering your history with him. I also suspect that this is a somewhat new development. Draco was genuinely frightened, and equally determined to see that we did leave, and with the ingredients we needed to break his father's spell in the camp. That included his own blood. Horrifying as that is, it gives us a very valuable bit of information. Lucius obviously trusts Draco implicitly, and does not suspect at all that Draco feels otherwise. The blood in the spell is key, and he wouldn't put in the blood of anyone he did not believe would never reveal that fact. Or who would willingly give it so that the spell would be broken. Now we have exactly what we need to break the circle without incident."

Harry and Ron stared at Sirius, but they didn't say anything else. Sirius looked at Remus, who nodded at him, then sat down next to Katie. Sirius continued.

"Look, we're not telling you this to annoy you, we're telling you this because you need to know what's happened. We need you to help us with the next part. We need a distraction, one big enough to get attention away from the camp. And the tip off needs to come from an unlikely source, but one that won't be questioned."

Harry let out a snort and put his head in his hands. "You mean Draco. You want us to actually trust Draco to help with something this important? Have you forgotten his track record? What about when he.…" but Hermione reached across Ron to put an hand on his arm to stop him.

"They're not asking you to trust Draco, they're asking you to trust them," she said quietly.

Sirius nodded and gave Hermione a small smile. "Hermione's right, Harry. We need you to trust us on this. Look, I had my doubts about Snape, obviously, but I will admit on this issue I trust him. But nothing else. You need to make the same choice with Draco. I'm not asking you to be his friend. I'm asking you to believe that he doesn't want to see Voldemort regain his power. That's it."

Harry now just looked miserable when he raised his face to look at Sirius. Finally, with a glance at Ron, he replied quietly, "Of course I trust you, Sirius. What do you need us to do?"

Sirius smiled and gave Remus a relieved look. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. It's nearly midnight, so let's just end this discussion for now and try to get a few smiles back on these faces, shall we?"

Sirius was happy to see that all three of them did manage to smile at that. He went over to sit with Liz on one of the large chairs next to the fire as Katie and Remus left the room. Nobody said anything, but it wasn't an awkward silence, but rather everyone just absorbing everything that had just happened. 

Remus and Katie came back in with bottles and glasses.

"My favourite muggle tradition. Everyone's old enough to have a glass so Liz and I splurged and bought some appallingly expensive stuff."

Ron took the glass Remus handed him with a smile. "I've never even had the chance to see champagne."

Katie smiled at him. "You should enjoy it. Lovely stuff."

"Shouldn't Malcolm be with us?"

Sirius had to chuckle and patted Ron on the shoulder. "A nice thought, but I don't recommend waking him up when he's not ready for it. Might damage his image of being such a nice quiet baby."

Liz laughed, taking her own glass. "We aren't going to have to sing, are we Katie?"

Katie made a face. "Goodness no. Or if you feel the need, wait until we've had a few glasses. That could at least be amusing."

Remus gave a wicked grin. "Padfoot knows a few amusing songs."

Liz gave Sirius a wink. "I can imagine."

"Thank you. Moony, I think we can do without that. Of course, I doubt that _you've _forgotten the words to _my _amusing songs."

They heard the clock chime in the front hall.

"Well, Remus, it's your house. What's the toast to be?"

"Happy New Year."

"That's it? That's the best you can do?"

"I think that about covers it, don't you, Padfoot?"

"Next year I'm in charge of the toast."


	5. Veritas 10

# Veritas 10

Well, here's a tip that has nothing to do with the story.Get a flu shot.I refused, and have paid the price.Not only was I unable to move for three days, I had to endure a very smug boyfriend bringing me tea and pharmaceuticals every few hours.Although he never actually said 'I told you so', the words just hung in an annoying aura around his inoculated self. At least, that's what I thought until I finally got up to work & turned on my computer.My screen saver seems to have mysteriously re-programmed itself into the scrolling marquee setting – and says in large red letters against a black background:"Next year, I will listen to well meant advice and stop being a baby about needles".

On with the story, then.Harry's POV as the action shifts to Hogwarts for a chapter or two.

And one thing – there is no "Veritas 8A" so to speak – all I meant with that was that I was posting version B of chapter 8, so nobody is missing anything.

***

Harry pulled at his jumper's arms to bring the sleeves down over his hands._It's freezing down here._The dungeon halls seemed darker and danker than usual.January was exceptionally cold, and the skies were always overcast, so they all seemed to have been living in a perpetual gloomy twilight ever since term had started. Harry's mood wasn't the best to start with, what with this whole Draco issue to fret over, and this was making it worse.And now he was late for potions.Again.

_Bloody hell._

_ _

Harry finally reached the classroom, took a deep breath, and went in.Although he carefully kept his eyes on the floor, he could feel everyone looking at him.Especially Snape.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter. And I don't care what your excuse might be."

Harry wordlessly sat next to Ron, who didn't risk a glace in his direction.Snape went on with his lecture.

"At this point in your careers you should be able to handle some of the more sophisticated healing potions, and that is what we will be focusing on for the next six weeks.As always, I am aware that this will prove too much for any number of you, but you will have to do the best you can."

Harry went through the motions of taking notes and even opening his book to approximately the page Professor Snape had asked them to, but he was concentrating more on what he was planning to do two days from now.He risked a glance at Malfoy, finally.Draco sat in stony silence next to Crabbe.Goyle was still out sick, and Harry thought how lopsided Malfoy appeared with only one of his goons trailing him about._But he looks different; or am I just thinking that? He doesn't have the usual sneer on his face. _Draco looked, instead, completely blank._Like he's not even concentrating on this. But what is he thinking about?_ It was too disturbing for Harry to even think about that. _I don't know what's worse, if he's thinking about helping Voldemort or helping Dumbledore._

Ron suddenly gave him a swift kick in the ankle under the table.Harry just managed to avoid both crying out and slamming his knee on the tabletop.

_What?_ He glared at Ron.Ron passed him a note while Snape had turned to start handing out ingredients.

Stop staring at Malfoy, you idiot. What are you trying to do?Screw this up for Snuffles? 

Harry read the note, then tossed it in the fire under their cauldron as Ron walked up front with the others._Good point._

He looked instead at Hermione, who was talking to Cecelia Carrington, the other Slytherin Prefect, as they collected their ingredients._I can't believe those two get on so well.At least it works in our favour.Imagine if Zabini was the Prefect. We'd never have a chance at pulling this off…._

Lucky for Harry, Ron had actually been paying attention, and he came back with the ingredients, put them on the table, then quickly turned Harry's book to the right page just as Snape walked over, inspecting their set up.He gave them each a standard dark look, but said nothing as he moved on. 

"Imagine," muttered Ron under his breath, "this is actually an improvement with Snape."

Harry just gave a small grunt and went to work on their potion.While Harry couldn't really concentrate, thinking about what he, Ron and Hermione were about to do, Ron seemed to deal with his stress by actually focusing very intently on making their assignment perfect.Or as close to perfect as Snape would allow.

This prevented Harry from completely botching the assignment.

"Harry! What are you doing?"

Harry suddenly snapped out of his reverie to see Ron glaring at him again, and holding his wrist.

"Um, putting the blackberries in?"

"Not yet, this lot has to boil down first.Wait 'till it turns red, then put them in."

Harry let his nerves finally get the better of him, and he snapped at Ron."Well, sorry, Ron.Didn't realize you'd suddenly become such a pro at this.Katie been giving you lessons over the holidays when I wasn't looking?"

"Oh shut up and get on with it. Are you trying to get us in trouble?Get us a detention and we'll miss our shot at…at…and then where will we be?"

Hermione finally leaned over from where she was working with Dean.

"What is wrong with you both?" she hissed, "Your bickering is getting some looks.And now Snape…."

Snape suddenly appeared next to Hermione and she instantly went red and shut up.

"I would appreciate it, Miss Granger, if you would respect my request that conversation be kept to a minimum while you are supposed to be working.I understand that Professor Sprout needs assistance in cleaning out several of her greenhouses. Do I make myself clear?" he concluded, icily.

"Yes, Professor."

Snape looked at Harry and Ron, and then glanced in their cauldron.

"Better put those in now, Potter, or you will have to start again, and there is not enough time in the class remaining for you to successfully complete this potion if you do that."Snape moved on to the next group of students.

Harry threw the blackberries in the pot so hard that the potion splashed up and burned his hand. Ron said nothing, but rolled his eyes.

Harry turned away, rubbing his burned hand, and looked up to suddenly see Malfoy looking at him.Again, he was surprised to see that Draco did not have the customary sneer he wore whenever he looked at Potter, but instead was looking at him with the same blank expression he had had on all class._God, what if he thinks that Sirius and Remus just told us everything? We've been very careful not to do or say anything differently than we normally would with him._Sirius and Remus may have been pretty convinced that Draco was in fact helping the League in his own way, but Harry was still suspicious._It just doesn't fit._

Harry decided to just sneer at Draco instead, then turned back to Ron.Ron was livid.

"I told you to stop looking at him.God, I'm not sure I'm forgiving them for all this.They'd damn well better be right."

Harry sighed.He knew how Ron felt. He trusted Sirius and Remus completely, but this was really testing his resolve._To trust something so important to Draco seems insane…._

***

The first day of the New Year started with Ron and Harry trying very hard not to pick a fight with Sirius and Remus.After their little bombshell about Draco being the one who set them free when Lucius Malfoy had captured them, they had refused to further justify their convictions that Draco was to be trusted. 

"Harry, we could spend the next month arguing over this," Sirius had said in an angry tone."And none of us have the time for that.We need to be getting on.The only question, it seems, is are you going to help us or not?"

Harry felt miserable at this.Sirius and Remus were both looking at him rather stonily.Harry had learned by this point that arguing, with either of them, was essentially pointless unless you had a very good reason to question their decisions.Remus in particular; where Sirius would get argumentative when he was upset, Remus would get silent._Waiting you out._And, on the rare occasions he did this, Harry had yet to prove him wrong.

"What do you want us to do?" Harry looked at Ron and Hermione.Ron nodded, looking as miserable as Harry, but Hermione kept her focus on Sirius and Remus._She made up her mind last night.Why doesn't she have as much trouble believing this?_

Remus sat down behind his desk and looked at them. "We need you to have a conversation within earshot of Draco.I don't think that you walking up to him and confronting him on his involvement with the League would be a good idea.I don't think he's at that point.He is helping Snape; Snape made certain that Draco would be at Malfoy's to set us free…."

"After he made sure Malfoy knew to capture you…." Muttered Ron, in an insolent tone.

Remus was not happy with the interruption."Ron," he said, in the darkest tone Harry had ever heard from Remus, startling him, "do not interrupt me.Particularly in that frame of voice.Am I making myself clear?"

Ron, chastened, just nodded.

Remus continued in a lighter, more normal tone. "We cannot afford at this point to start bickering amongst ourselves, don't you see?We understand that this is not a welcome, or an easily accepted, piece of news.But it is a fact.And we need every advantage we can take.If you truly want to be more involved, we are offering you that opportunity.And we expect you to take on the responsibility that involvement brings with it. I do not doubt for a moment," he finally smiled at them, "that you are not worthy of that responsibility.I know you are."

"We need to get inside the wellspring when, hopefully, it is not hosting a plethora of Death Eaters.The only way to ensure that is to guarantee that there is something more interesting going on elsewhere. Something as mundane as a meeting of the League will not suffice.We need to offer something more intriguing.And, it so happens, Lucius has now confirmed that we have not one but two things he would love to get his hands on."

"Dumbledore and Sirius," said Hermione, quietly.

Sirius smiled at her."Exactly.Moony here isn't all that tempting; too many people know now that he's 'an untrustworthy dark creature'," Sirius' expression looked a little dangerous as he said this, "but the chance to get me?And to prove that Dumbledore is consorting with me?Too good to pass up.And not something you go to do on your own.Malfoy, if he sticks to type, will not only come himself, but will bring his best Death Eaters with him, as back up."

Sirius now sat down himself, rather heavily in the chair next to Remus and leaned his head on his hand."So, what we think is best is that Harry and Ron have a rather careless conversation near Draco.Basically detailing that this is what we've come up with, but need to make sure Lucius believes.If it goes as we think it should, Draco will contact us directly, and offer to help.Or he may go through Snape, but either way.The key is that Lucuis hears this from Draco, whom he trusts completely.If he hears it from anyone else, he might do a little snooping.But thinking his son has gotten the best of a very careless Mr. Potter?He'd just love that."

"What if Draco doesn't in fact contact you, or say anything to Snape?" asked Hermione.

"Then we will assume we were wrong in our assumptions, Hermione," said Remus quietly, "and try to decide what to do from there."

"So…so you do have doubts," said Harry, trying very hard not to sound accusatory and get told off by Remus or Sirius.

Remus just nodded at looked at Sirius before replying.

"Of course we have doubts, Harry.We never said we didn't.All we want you to understand is that we feel more strongly that Draco is to be trusted and can help.If we're wrong, we're wrong. You can be cross with us then."

"Just promise us one thing," added Sirius. "I don't think that Draco should know we told you all of this.Don't treat him any differently; don't talk to him about this.If he wanted his actions to be known, Snape wouldn't be so difficult about it.I think Draco is struggling with making some decisions right now. And that makes him dangerous.People don't change overnight, you're right about that.So be very careful.Believe me," he added in a miserable tone, "I appreciate the consequences of trusting the wrong people."

***

Potions finally ended.Thanks to Ron, he and Harry managed to get through with a reasonable mark.They left, following Hermione and Cecelia Carrington, who seemed deep in conversation about something.Harry found himself staring at Hermione's back._How can she be so calm?This was all her idea anyway…._Hermione had been the one to suggest that the best opportunity Ron and Harry would have to let Draco 'overhear' them would be after the Prefect's regular monthly meeting with Dumbledore.Draco would easily believe that he and Ron were hanging about waiting for Hermione; she would make sure that Cecelia was actually delayed from returning with Draco by talking to her about something.Harry and Ron agreed; the next meeting was in two days.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins made their way out of the dungeons to get to the Great Hall for lunch.Harry wasn't really paying attention to anything, thinking again of all of the things that could go wrong with what they were about to do.Suddenly, though, he heard Hermione raise her voice ahead of them.

"Draco Malfoy, _what _is your problem?"

Harry saw Ron's head snap up at that, and they both moved forward around the corner to find Hermione, Cecelia and Malfoy standing outside the entrance of the dungeons glaring at each other.

"What now, Granger?I said nothing to you…"

"I am sick of your attitude Malfoy!I will not be spoken to like that!"

Draco actually looked puzzled as well as angry.

"Cecelia, get away from this woman.I can't believe you even consider her worth your time…."

At that, Ron jumped forward and grabbed Malfoy by the collar before Harry could stop him.

"Watch it, Malfoy.My wand's fixed now, you pompous git."

Draco pulled back, slapping Ron's hand."Have you finally gone mad, Weasly? Get off me."

"Apologise to Hermione!"

"For what? Off with you, idiot…."Draco turned to go.But that was enough for Ron, who threw up an arm to stop him.

"I said apologise you evil little ferret!We're not so easily intimidated by you anymore, we've grown up a bit.Why haven't you?"

Draco went slightly pink.Before Harry could do anything, Draco snarled and grabbed Ron's robes in return.

"What the hell is your problem?Are you the only one who doesn't see that you're in love with the mudblood here?You're acting like an idiot; you're the one who needs to grow up, not hide behind these pathetic amateur theatrics…."

Harry realized one second too late that Ron was pulling back to punch Draco._Ron!Who's screwing it up for Snuffles now…._Harry pumped forward just as Ron and Draco went down heavily on the flagstones, tripping over Ron and falling with them.Just as McGonagal arrived.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy!What are you doing?"

Draco stood up with a snarl, glaring at Ron and Harry before regaining his composure enough to turn to McGonagal.

"Professor…."

"I expect better behaviour from the sixth years, for goodness sake.What on earth are you thinking?Detention, all of you.Report to Professor Spout tomorrow evening.Mr. Malfoy, I am not interested in hearing any excuses.Ten points each from your houses.Go to lunch." She left.

Draco looked ready to kill.He turned to Ron and Harry with a red face.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?What was the point of that? McGonagal's right, second years have better control that you two _idiots._"He grabbed his things and stormed into the great Hall, Cecelia close behind.

Harry could hardly believe what had just happened._Tomorrow?Now what?We're not going to be able to …Sirius is going to have a fit._Harry looked at Ron, who had a stunned expression still on his face, like he couldn't believe he'd just done something so stupid.Then Harry turned to Hermione.

She was smiling at them.

Harry gawked at her."What, _what_, can you possibly be smiling about?You've just gone and screwed up our chance to…."But Hermione silenced him with a wave of her hand, then grabbed both him and Ron by the sleeve and pulled them to the side.

"This is much better, don't you see?As soon as Snape said Professor Sprout was next on the list for detention, I suddenly realised that this was a much better option than what we had planned."She was still smiling happily.Ron was not as happy, however.

"Hermione, what are you talking about?" he said in an angry whisper.

"Look, I've always been a little worried that Draco would be suspicious of just 'happening' to overhear you two hanging around the corridors.But now, with you all in detention, it's much more likely that he would in fact overhear something you have to say, right?He'll take this much more to heart, and be much more likely to assume you've made a mistake.He certainly won't suspect that you're being any nicer to him because Remus and Snuffles told you he was to be trusted, right?" she managed to whisper all of that in an excited tone without taking a single breath.

Harry blinked. Then, reluctantly, nodded._She's right. But…_ "Hermione, you realize that Snuffles is about to get an owl telling him that I go into a fight with Draco.You know Dumbledore tells him these things, not the Dursleys.He'll have a fit."

"For goodness sake, Harry, he will probably care less."

"No, he's going to be mad about this one.He made me promise not to get into anything with Draco and jeopardize this."

Ron sighed."Remus made me promise the same thing.We're going to hear about this one."

Hermione seemed unmoved."We'll send Pig right now with a note to say what's up."

"That'll be worse," groaned Harry."He'll be mad we risked it.Better just deal with the consequences later."

Hermione picked up her bags."Nonsense.I write to Katie all the time.I'll send her a note explaining what _I _did, and she'll explain it to them. How's that?"

Ron finally gave a weak smile."Well, I definitely would feel better with Katie to back us up.God, what are we going to have to do for Sprout?"

***

That afternoon, Harry lay down on his bed to take a rest and just think about everything for a few minutes._Hermione better be right about this.Actually, what she said makes sense.Tomorrow is going to be a long night._

Harry sat up and pulled out the album of photos of his parents that Hagrid had made for him years ago.He absently looked through the pages, smiling at the pictures, and calmed down a little.He tried again to remember what they had been like, but it was no good, he was too little when…. Even when Remus and Sirius told him stories about what it had been like, when they had been there, he couldn't remember.Sometimes he wondered if maybe the reason he had become close to them now was some sort of residual memory of what it had been like when he was a baby and they had been there then._That's probably just what Katie calls 'dangerous over thinking'._

He finally reached the page with the picture of his parents wedding.His only picture of Sirius.He stared at it for a while.This picture had given him nightmares once, when he thought Sirius was the one who…_I can't even think about that anymore.Knowing how much all of that still hurts him._

This was the one thing he and Sirius had never spoken about.Harry knew that Sirius still blamed himself for his parents' deaths in some way.He just couldn't bring himself to talk about it.What good would come of it?

He looked back at the picture, smiling a little at the happy people smiling back at him.While Sirius finally resembled this man in the picture again, he had never, in Harry's memory, looked so happy and utterly confident and proud as the man in this picture._That Sirius is gone.That's what he lost._

Remus had confessed to Harry that he was the one who had sent that picture, and was pleased that Hagrid had in fact included it.

"I wasn't sure Hagrid would put it in there.I didn't even sign my name to the owl, ashamed that Hagrid would be furious that I had even dared to do it.But; well, it seemed important.That Sirius, the Sirius in the picture, was your father's best friend. That was the Sirius who cried when your parents asked him to be your godfather, he was so touched.That wasn't the man who…. Remus had trailed off, and gazed out the window.Finally he looked back at Harry."Maybe, Harry, part of me never accepted what we thought had happened.Part of me always wanted to believe that there had been some terrible mistake."

"And that part was right."

Remus just smiled sadly at him before Harry shifted his own gaze away."Yes.But that Sirius is gone forever. Just as the man I was then is gone.At the time, we were all far to young to believe anything could ever change us all so profoundly."

Harry looked back at Remus, whose own gaze had gone back to Malcolm, who was sleeping quietly.Harry looked at Malcolm too, and finally got the nerve to ask Remus what he'd wanted to ask him for years._Because I don't think I'll ever have the nerve to ask Sirius._

"Remus? 

"Yes?"

"Sirius still blames himself, doesn't he?"

Remus said nothing for a long while.Then he shook his head."Harry, I don't really know what to say to that.Sirius will always, always, feel a terrible guilt over trusting Peter with your parents' lives, with not taking the role of secret keeper, like James and Lily wanted.He truly thought he was doing the right thing."Remus stopped, but Harry could tell that he had something else to say, so just waited.

Remus looked at him, a deep sadness in his eyes."Harry, Sirius and I have made our own peace over what happened.Nothing can change it. But you and he, well, you need to make _your_ own peace.You need to talk with him yourself, I can't do it for you.I can't be the intermediary in this.I'm sorry."

Harry nodded.Remus was right."I don't think…. Remus, nothing will change it, like you said.Maybe we never will talk about it.What good would it do?It'll just upset Sirius." _And me._

Remus smiled now, quietly."Harry, I know you're too old now to believe that.Someday, you will talk about it. You have to, just like I did."

"Did it help?"

Remus now stood to pick up Malcolm, who was waking up."It hurt, Harry.I know what you're asking.There will never be a time it doesn't hurt.But at some point, all walls need to be burned down.I know that you and Sirius have grown close.I know he loves you as much as he ever did, and so do you.Did it help us?Yes, it did.As horrible as it was, it did help us.And the only reason we could have the conversation was because we are as close as we ever were.Sometimes we have to have the worst conversations with the people who mean the most to us."Remus held Malcolm closely."I'm going to face some horrible conversations with Malcolm, Harry," Remus continued quietly. "But I can't not have them.I just have to trust that he'll know I love him.Do you understand?"

Harry closed the album and then closed his eyes. _Sirius knows what he means to me.I know he does. He knows nothing will change that…._

Harry finally stood up and got ready for dinner when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.Neville walked in to drop off his books.

"Hey, Neville."

"Hi. Harry.Taking a nap?"

"No, just thinking.Going to dinner?"

"Just after I wash up."

"I'll wait for you."

Neville smiled and went into the bathroom.Harry thought about what it must be like for Neville, with his parents still alive, but unable to recognize him.Neville never talked about them, and still didn't know that Harry even knew about them.He'd asked Sirius once if he knew the Longbottoms.Sirius said they had been very nice people, a few years older than them. He was shocked and saddened when Remus explained to him what had happened to them._That's worse, I think.To be so close, but to know that nothing you do will ever make a difference._Harry was once again grateful for at least having Sirius, and Remus, in his life._They're not a substitute, but they're a pretty good alternative._

Neville returned and they went down to the common room to meet the others.Harry sighed as he listened to Neville go on about some herbology problem he was dealing with.

_Herbology.Greenhouses.Everything goes right back to Draco, doesn't it?_


	6. Veritas 11

# Veritas 11

I am _so _surprised that the multitude of protests that have been led across the country over the past few days regarding the endless "let's recount these votes until we get the answer we want" shenanigans in Florida have been ignored by the media.;0We had several thousand marching here, I can tell you.We are seeing a really ugly underbelly of the 'democratic' process. And if I have to hear Daley, the son of the original "Vote early, vote often" politico, go on about 'justice' once more, the telly is going to suffer an injury. Whoever ends up with this Presidency is doomed to four years of suspicion and accusations, period.A four-year 'lame duck' government; that'll prove interesting.It's a shame to see the experiment that was the original draft of the first modern attempt at a 'by the people, for the people' government come crashing down like this. 

Shakespeare would have loved to get his hands on this little melodrama, don't you think?

Act I, scene i; a polling office near Stratford….

_Lord Daley: _Gadzooks!We're still behind!Ordeth another handcount! Tell Sir Warren Christopher to stall the papers with another indignant sounding meaningless address so that we may prepare.Thank goodness we did not kill all the lawyers….

(I know, I know; get over it and get on with the story….)

This chapter ended up getting too big, so I've split it – also, I needed to switch back to Harry's POV near the end, so that next bit (details of the dreaded detention) will be up in a day or two.

***

Sirius was sitting in the kitchen with Katie when the owl arrived.He absently stood up to open the window, not even looking at the owl, and was very surprised when it stood on the table in front of him, holding its leg out impatiently.

"Better get that," smiled Katie.

Sirius took the note, and sent the owl on its way.Then he looked at the note.

"I don't believe this!He's only been back two weeks!" he waved the letter, with its unmistakeable seal , at Katie."I told him to stay out of trouble!What does he think he's doing…." He trailed off as Katie started to giggle.

"Sorry; but honestly, listen to yourself. You have to admit it's a little ironic."

"Katie-girl, I have every right to be upset.Harry isn't like me, or James; he doesn't look for trouble.I only get these when something reasonably serious has happened…." He opened the letter. 

"Oh. My. God!"

Katie leaned over to take the letter.Sirius let her do it, staring at the ceiling.

"Now, Malcolm dear, pay attention.These are the sort of letters I never expect to get from you, despite what Daddy and Sirius try to do to you."

Sirius groaned.

"Sir-This is to inform you that Mr. Harry Potter has received detention for fighting in the hallways.As you know, this behaviour is not condoned at Hogwarts.He has also lost 10 points for Gryffindor house.He and the others involved, Mr. Ronald Weasely and….."Katie looked at Sirius. "Ah."

"What could they possibly have been thinking?"

Katie shrugged."I doubt thinking had much to do with this.So it's detention with Malfoy for them.Why is it I can actually hear McGonagal in my head as I read this?"

Sirius gave her a withering look."Remus suspects she charms them.Sort of an evolved howler."He took the letter back from her and scowled at it."I can't wait to hear the explanation for this."

At that instant, another owl arrived.Katie got up this time.

"Hello, Pig."

Pigwidgeon flew in and hopped back and forth across the table.It took Sirius a few seconds to actually hold him long enough to get his note.

"Thank you.This should be interesting, I susp… Katie, this is for you. From Hermione."

Katie took the note after she gave Pig a small bowl of water. Sirius grimaced as Pig just jumped into it.

"Oi, you. Don't splash on the baby."

Katie smiled and opened the letter.Sirius watched her reading it, drumming his fingers on the table. _I can't wait to hear this one.Must have been Malfoy's fault.What if we were wrong about him? Or maybe, maybe Draco started it to make sure everyone still understands how much he hates Harry and Ron…_ "Well?Tell me Draco started it."

Katie was now grinning, and shaking her head. "No.Actually, Hermione started it."

Sirius froze."Hermione started it?Hermione!?"

"Uh huh.Very clever girl, that."

Sirius managed to swallow his next comment, but saw Katie smiling at him out of the corner of her eye.When he gained a little control he managed to ask, in a reasonably civil tone, "Why exactly did she see fit to start a fight?And why isn't she on the detention list?"

"It would appear that Hermione simply leveraged a little information to, well, set up Ron and Harry.Ron actually, knowing that Harry wouldn't be far behind.She made a fuss over Draco insulting her, again, knowing that nothing gets Ron's goat more than Draco calling her names."

Sirius thought about this."Are you telling me she took advantage of Ron's confused hormones to get those three put on detention together?"

"Yes.Not original, but very effective.Sirius, are you blushing?"

"No."

"Fallen prey to this age-old game yourself?"

"_No._"

"Then you must have set someone else up."

Now Sirius had to smile."Maybe. Maybe I paid for it, too.Your husband is very, very resourceful you know."

Katie raised an eyebrow but still smiled."I know.Well, well, well, what exactly did you do?"

"Can we get back to the immediate issue?Why did she do this?I thought that tomorrow they were supposed to…."

Katie stopped him."Change of plans.Hermione has never been very convinced that Draco simply having the good luck to stumble across Harry and Ron would be the best bet.Seems that Snape let them know that Professor Sprout was next on the list for 'assistance'; Hermione thought that this was too good to pass up.Not only would it assure that Draco knew that hostilities were on the same level as always, but it would be much more likely that Draco would 'overhear' them when they were all in detention together.I actually agree with her.Clever girl.And not just book smart it would seem."

Sirius leaned over to Malcolm."Are you listening to all this?The same fate awaits you.You can't escape it, just try to be graceful about losing to the whims of women."

"Well she may have got more than she bargained for…." Said Katie, continuing to read the letter."Seems Malfoy said something a little unfortunate."

"What?"

Katie shook her head and tucked the letter in her pocket. "No, that part's for me, sorry.You got what you needed.She wants me to make sure that you and Remus don't get cross with Ron and Harry over this.Harry seems convinced that you are going to explode."

"I promise not to explode."

"Neither will Remus, I'm safe in assuming. I'm going to send a note back with Pig that everything is copasetic and you and Remus are not incoherent with fury over this."

"Just a little sputtering, but we'll get over it. And tell Hermione to be kind to Ron."

***

Remus actually laughed when Sirius and Katie explained what happened over dinner.

"Very skilful set up.Poor Ron, he didn't have a chance." He gave Sirius a meaningful look.

Liz was laughing too. "I have to agree.And I also think that Hermione was right about this.So, we'll know by the weekend if this is going to work."

Sirius was still relatively unamused, but he did manage a small smile."I still think this was a bit much."

Remus shook his head."You just don't like it when well set plans are changed at the last minute, Padfoot.I know that.But don't worry about this one, the basic concept is the same and I will also agree that Hermione actually managed to establish a 'better setting' as it were. Nothing to do now but wait."

"And finish the counter spell.Another week or so and it should be ready," added Liz.

Sirius looked at her."Really? So soon?Can't it wait till the thaw?"

"Really, Padfoot.We're experts at slowly freezing to death by now.Letting your years creep up on you?"

"Moony, my years have little to do with this.When in all of our _numerous _years together, did you ever once know me not to complain about being cold?"

"Good point.His brave Gryffindor heart certainly didn't include being sturdy once the temperature dropped."

Liz smiled at Remus."I seemed to do a fair amount of complaining about the temperature in the Hogwarts dungeons myself.Brian never did get used to me keeping our flat temperature in the 70s."

"The 70s?" said Katie, "my God, you and Sirius are made for each other.I've actually caught him wearing jumpers in July."

Sirius pushed the remains of his dinner about for a moment before dropping his fork and leaning his head in his hands."You know, I've a good mind to go up there personally tomorrow and have a 'chat'; see how they enjoy Hogsmead then…."

Liz laughed."Oh, yes, Sirius.Just going to stroll into the Three Broomsticks are you?"

"Of course not, I'll just…."He stopped suddenly, then stood up and left the room.He ignored Remus calling after him and just went out through the back door of the kitchen to one of the greenhouses._I can't believe I just said that.Talk about stupid…._

_ _

He sat down on one of the benches, staring at the orchids Katie kept in here._Very beautiful, and totally pointless._He smirked._Hidden away too, aren't you?_

After a while Remus appeared. Sirius saw him hesitate, once he had discovered that Sirius was in fact in the greenhouse, but finally he walked in.Sirius said nothing as Remus came over and sat next to him.

It was silent for a long time.Finally Sirius couldn't stand it anymore.

"You wife's orchids are lovely.She's developed a real talent for these."

Remus nodded, but said nothing.

Sirius sighed."Sorry about all that."

Remus nodded again, slowly."I know you don't like it when something that has been set is changed.But I honestly think that what Hermione did was okay, and really, when you think about it, it is a better approach."

Sirius shook his head."Draco is still such an unknown in this.Harry and Ron have a point, you know.And they know Draco better than we do.Certainly better than I do.What was it like to teach him?"

Remus idly played with the orchid closest to him for a few moments while he thought."Well, it was a few years ago.Draco behaved every inch like a pompous, arrogant and very self-righteous boy.Took every opportunity to remind me that I did not present the most…appropriate…figure.Made sure I knew he was better than I was, even if I was a teacher.But that was in front of others.He was very preoccupied with getting good marks, and would not hesitate to come and see me if he needed clarification on something. On those occasions, as I've said before, he was actually quite civil.And he wasn't just there trying to learn only what he needed to to get by; he truly was interested and thoughtful about what we discussed. He truly wanted to do well."

"Probably worried what his father would say if he didn't."

"Draco did not have the best marks the year before, and I think you're right; I think his father made it clear that that was unacceptable.Especially from the son of such an important family.There was no reason for him not to do well; he is bright.Personally, what I really think is that at that time Draco was suddenly realizing that he was not a son.He was an heir.There is a difference, you know."Remus looked at Sirius and gave a small smile.

Sirius nodded grimly."Yes, I'm well aware of that.I've always imagined what the first words out of my own father's mouth when I was arrested.Something to do more with the disgrace this brought to the family, not even a question as to why, or if it was right. Thank goodness I had such appropriate cousins to carry the family on; cousins who will never again say my name in anything over a guilty whisper at a cocktail party."

Remus said nothing.

"Remus?"

"Hmmm?"

"Did you ever see my parents after everything happened?Did you ever talk to them?"

Remus nodded once."A few times.I don't think they were happy to see me, actually.Remember, I was one of the reasons you weren't Head Boy.Bad influence, you know.They always looked like…like they believed the rumours…."He stopped.

"What rumours? Did they know you were a werewolf?God I'm sorry Remus."

"Not that.I always figured if they knew that they would have me publicly denounced.Sorry…."

Sirius gave him a sad smile. "Don't be.I think I was more afraid of them finding out than anyone.You're right, they probably would have. Not the nicest people who ever lived, were they?But if it wasn't that, then what?"

Remus looked at him for a long moment, his smile twisting into a wry grin as he shook his head."Sirius…."

"What?"

Remus sighed and leaned back on the bench."The rumours that I was helping you.Remember, I was the only one of us 'untouched' by what had happened. People either seemed to feel that I was very lucky that you had been captured before you could get to me, thanks to 'brave Little Peter Pettigrew', or that I had managed to evade being implicated, and that you had taken the knowledge of my involvement with you to Azkaban."

Sirius viciously kicked an empty pot sitting next to the bench, shattering it.Swearing, he took out his wand and fixed it, not looking at Remus._I used to wonder what it was like for you, Remus; I just to sit there and worry that maybe people were thinking just those things; until I couldn't bear to think about you anymore, because it would always make me feel a little better, knowing you were okay, and then the Dementors would come._

"Gods, Remus, what a sorry pair we turned out to be."

Remus shook his head."Oh, all things considered, I think we've done amazingly well.We were never cut out for a 'normal' life anyway, were we?I certainly never was."

"You've done damn well, if you ask me."

Remus frowned."It was a long time getting here, Sirius. And it's hardly a scene of domestic tranquillity.More like an odd dream."

"I don't think Katie would be thrilled to hear you describing your life together as 'an odd dream'."

Remus smiled a little."Katie's hardly your everyday individual, is she?That's why we do get along so well.We're both a little…off.So we understand that part of each other.It's still a struggle for us, you know.We still have to fight the instinct to just hide from each other when we get upset about something, to just fend for ourselves and shut out others because they 'don't get it'. Katie would understand what I meant.That's why we are together, and will stay that way."

Sirius thought about this, but said nothing.

"Sirius, you got upset back at the dinner table because you still haven't told Liz about you being an animagus; you almost let it slip back there. You are still shutting Liz out; you're still hiding that. And by the way, I think that going to Hogsmead and telling them off would be an incredibly foolish thing to do."

"I never really intended to.I said I was of a mind to."

"Hmmm.Well, I think you need to decide once and for all if you're truly serious about Liz.Because if you are, you need to tell her about Padfoot.It's just too big to keep a secret.You can't go any further with her, personally, without doing it.Think I enjoyed finally telling Katie my own little secret?At least yours isn't taught in DADA."

Sirius scowled. "I have never liked you joking about this Remus, so don't. It's not funny."

Remus said nothing but stood up, and walked out with one last look at Sirius.

Sirius stared at the flowers for a long time._I just can't do it.I'm not sure I'm really… I can't do anything with Liz anyway, not until my name is cleared.So that's that.One more thing in limbo. She told me she'd wait; I guess we'll just have to see if that's true._


	7. Veritas 12

# Veritas 12

Oooh – I'm impatient. I have actually been working on future chapters (which get pretty intense…) and had to force myself to get back here to lead up to them.Writing tip – working backwards may help your style and continuity, but it busts your blood pressure. (trust me, I'm surrounded by med students eager for anything to diagnose….)

So- just what happened in detention?? 

Harry's POV in this one, but then back to Sirius for the remainder – I promise.

***

Harry was having a horrible dream.

_He woke up, not sure where he was.Looking about he suddenly realized he was in his room at 10 Privet Drive…._

_ _

_There was a noise downstairs.Terrified that Uncle Vernon would wake up, Harry jumped out of bed and ran as quietly as he could down the stairs.He stopped when he saw a glow of light coming from the living room.Slowly, as quietly as he could, he crept forward.But he could hear he own heart pounding; surely everyone else could too?_

_ _

_He stepped into the living room, unable to stop himself. It was bathed in an odd blue light.Three figures were in front of the fire.Harry stepped forward, in a trance.Suddenly he found himself looking into Peter Pettigrew's eyes._

_ _

_"Foolish little boy…" whispered Pettigrew, his eyes breaking Harry's gaze and looking down.Harry looked too…. Sirius was sprawled on the floor, his throat…his throat split…._

_ _

_"Always thought he was so much better than me…but it was all his fault you see.Just because he wasn't man enough to do what they asked him…." whispered Pettigrew in Harry's ear."That one too,,,,"_

_ _

_Harry suddenly realized that the other body sprawled at his feet was Remus.And Remus was very, very dead._

_ _

_"Done everyone a favour, haven't I?" continued Peter; Harry couldn't move, couldn't even scream."Disgusting, evil creature that he was…."_

_ _

_Harry tried to strike him; tried to reach out to Sirius…to Remus… Remus didn't deserve to die like this… he was needed at home; Katie needed him, Malcolm needed him…._

_ _

_Draco Malfoy suddenly stepped up in front of him, kneeling down and poking absently at Sirius' head; ignoring how it just seemed to loll there…_

_ _

_"Idiots…."_

_ _

_Fire suddenly enveloped the room; but Harry couldn't feel the burning. He just stood there, Sirius and Remus dead at his feet, staring at Malfoy.Malfoy said nothing, never moved as the flames burned his white hair, and engulfed him._

_ _

_Harry stood there, watching Malfoy burn.Suddenly he seemed to realize what was happening, reached out, and felt his arm stopped. He turned.Cedric stood there, pale and saddened._

_ _

_"Too late."_

***

Harry did manage to stop himself from actually screaming as he woke up for real, clutching his sheets so intensely his fingers hurt._Dream… Hogwarts…just a dream…_ but he felt tears burning his eyes._Sirius… Remus…._

_ _

Harry finally, in the aftermath of this terrible vision, admitted to himself how much he needed them.The idea of living the rest of his life without them was too much.He was terrified that this latest incident would take them from him; and that was unacceptable.He lost his parents; all he had was them. _I'm not invincible. I can't…I won't…_ He tried to stop thinking like this.It didn't do any good.He wasn't a baby; he would manage…

He felt like he was going to cry; _no, I won't.I can't bear it if…._ The images flashed through his mind again, now made worse with other more conscious memories.Remus, looking so sad and lost when he told Harry that Sirius would always blame himself for his parents' deaths.Sirius, weeping as he confessed to Harry that someone killing Remus simply because was a werewolf had always been his greatest nightmare….

_It's just a dream.Stop it._

_ _

Suddenly Harry felt something moving near his feet; it was Crookshanks._Blasted cat… _but even though he was surprised to find that Crookshanks was there he felt oddly relieved.The cat jumped up from where it had been sleeping and came up to stand on Harry's chest.Blindly, he pushed at Crookshanks so that he sat down next to him.Crookshanks began to purr heavily, and curled up next to him, stretching happily up against his chest and under his chin.For once, Harry was very, very grateful to have the cat with him.A solid reminder of the real world; not the horrifying visions in his dreams.

"Gods, Crookshanks.For once I'm glad you ignored me when I threw you out of here."

The last thing he thought of, before he fell asleep again, was Sirius, back all those years ago in the Shack…. _"Cleverest of its kind I've ever met…."_

_ _

_ _

***

Harry woke up again as someone shook him.

"Come on Harry!We're going to be late getting to Hogsmede!"

Harry blinked at Seamus. Then groaned.He felt as though he hadn't slept all night, and although he couldn't remember the images from his nightmares, he still felt sick and saddened.

"Bug off, Seamus.I'll be up in a bit."

"Look you, we've already been to breakfast.You told us to but off then, too, but now you're going to get up. Up!If you don't get up, I'm not goin' ta give you the letter you've got…"

Harry jumped up."Letter?Give it here!"

"Oh now you suddenly wake up.Lazy thing; here ya go."Seamus tossed a letter at him and went to grab his cloak.

"Look, Harry, if nothin' else it's a chance to get out of here for a bit; you've been lookin' like you could do with a change of scenery.Come on, right?"Seamus looked at him, expectantly.Harry had to smile.

"Right.Let me get dressed at least.Where's Ron?"

Seamus grinned rather wickedly._Looks like Sirius with that smile…._

"Oh, down in the common room trying very hard to ignore Miss Granger.Seems a bit in a tiff over something.Any suggestions?"

"Well, it's Ron.Who knows; could be anything."

Seamus grinned even more."Very elusive answer.It has been suggested that the bastard Malfoy said something unfortunate…"

_Oh my God; Cecelia is a gossip.Who would have guessed?_

_ _

"Really?"

"Aye.Well, get downstairs quickly.We'll wait for you."Seamus left.

Harry tore open his letter.It was from Katie.

Harry-

I know I already wrote to Hermione, but I thought I'd just get a note to you, too.Fear not, Remus and Sirius are not upset over the change in plans.If anything, Sirius is feeling upset with Ron, as you know his opinion on people who drag these things out. We love him anyway.

Do be careful.I don't know if this offers any solace at all with what you are about to do, but I do appreciate your hesitancy over this issue.I know what it's like to have someone let you down, especially when you really needed something important from them.Remember, you always have me if you think that Remus or Sirius won't understand, and I do not break confidences for anything.

Malcolm seems to be getting the hang of actually sitting up, and he genuinely smiles and laughs now.Five months!Who would have thought, right?This is actually normal development, and don't let Sirius tell you otherwise.Remus has started to dream about when Malcolm starts to walk.He's got a while to go on that one… but then Remus suddenly gets sad at the idea that Malcolm is going to change at all.Please, Harry, when you are a father yourself, try to be rational about it. (Yes, I am laughing as I write that.)

As always, I look forward to having you here with us again.But as I'm hardly the sentimental type, you know, I won't go on about it.

I will say that everyone here sends their love.

- Katie

Harry had to smile as he read Katie's letter._She is sentimental, she's just not overt about it. She thinks we don't notice when she gets teary because Remus left her a note or some flowers just casually around the house?_ Harry put her letter in his trunk. Remus and Katie were hardly a conventional pair, but Harry hoped that one day he would be lucky enough to love someone as much. _Now that's needlessly sentimental…._

***

Saturday night, and their detention with Malfoy, arrived too quickly.The day had been a bit of a waste anyway.Ron was barely speaking to Hermione; not only was he furious with her for getting them a detention, he was mortified over what Draco had said and refused to look Hermione in the eye.Harry thought he was being an idiot.Draco may have been blunt, but he was right.Still, Sirius had warned him to stay well enough out of it, so Harry said nothing.

Harry and Ron left the tower and made their way to the front hall.Peeves met up with them about halfway there and taunted them for getting caught out all the way to the front doors.He shot over and cackled at Draco, too, when he stepped out of the door leading down to the dungeons.But Draco completely ignored him and walked over to where Harry and Ron stood with a blank face.He didn't even flinch when Peeves doubled his efforts, getting no response.

"Bit of a disgrace at your age, boy!" Called Peeves. "Fighting! Ha!"

Draco didn't so much as twitch.But he gave Ron a venomous stare.Ron went red and just stepped forward to open the doors.

It was pitch black and freezing cold when they all stepped out of the castle.They set out down the path to the greenhouses in silence.Fresh snow had been falling all afternoon, and Hagrid had not yet cleared the paths.He had been preoccupied with making certain that the lake would not actually freeze over.As they trudged through several inches of wet loose snow, Harry suddenly remembered the terrible dream he'd had last night.

He glanced at Draco.He could see the image of Draco, engulfed in fire, burning, but unmoving._Is it too late?Maybe what he did at Christmas was an experiment; why would he possibly…. Sirius is right; I'm trying so hard not to believe Draco can be trusted that I can't see that maybe I am wrong. And that might make me make the wrong choice…._

Harry and Ron had actually discussed not going through with all of this that afternoon.They had wracked their brains trying to think of some other way to set Sirius and Remus' plan in motion, one where they did not have to rely on Draco.

"What if he just tips them all off?What if he helps set a trap?" said Ron, miserably.

Hermione, who had been unusually quiet, finally said in a soft voice, "Ron, please.I honestly think that Draco has made the right choices.He's…he's different.Really. Something is up with him.Cecelia tipped me off first, you know.She says he's, well, it's hard to say…."

Ron still wouldn't look at her."You think one Slytherin is trustworthy because of something another Slytherin said? That's no improvement, Hermione."But his voice was not as harsh as it had been.

"Actually, Cecelia has never been all that bad.I actually wondered why she wasn't in Ravenclaw.That seems more appropriate." Harry ignored Ron glaring at him.

Hermione smiled. "She's very self-sufficient.And very ambitious.You can be ambitious, you know, without being evil about it. Not every Slytherin graduate went bad, you know."

"But every single one of the Death Eaters' inner circle _is_."

"You're forgetting Wormtail," mumbled Harry, poking at his lunch.

Hermione sighed."Look, just give Draco a chance.So what if he doesn't take it?We already know he's aware that Remus and Snuffles know about the whatever.So if it is a set-up, that damage has been done. Draco deserves a chance," she repeated in a very determined tone.

Ron finally glanced at her, but just as quickly looked away again. "Hermione, why, _why_, after everything he's done, especially to you, are you so bloody determined that he should be given the slightest benefit of the doubt."

"Because, Ron, if he is trying to decide, and makes the wrong choice because nobody ever offered him an option, that's shame on us.If we think we're better, if we think we offer better choices, then we better be willing to put up or shut up.You not giving him a chance is not a good thing to do.Doing the 'right' thing means willing to take a chance for it."

_She's right of course.But what if the price for doing the right thing is too high?_

_ _

They finally reached the greenhouses.They went in to the main greenhouse, still not speaking or looking at each other.Harry risked a glance at Malfoy in the bright light of the lamps. _Still a total blank.That's certainly a change._

Professor Sprout walked over, wiping her hands off on the apron she wore.

"Well, an interesting group I get sent tonight.I need the beds in greenhouse three turned and re-mulched.No magic.Not so much as an Accio shovel, understood?"

They all nodded. _It would have to be the greenhouse with the carnivorous vines, wouldn't it?_

_ _

As if reading Harry's thoughts, Professor Sprout continued as she led them back outside."The vines are in hibernation, so they should give you no worries.I will permit you to keep you wands, however, just in case.But let me be _very _clear; if the wands are used for _any _purpose other than holding off a vine, this detention will be the least of your worries for a long time."

She opened the door to greenhouse three and waved her wand to light the lamps down the centre of the greenhouse.The lamps on the side stayed dark, so the place took on a rather ominous look. "I'm not going to light the other lamps so that they don't disrupt the vines. Keep all conversation to a minimum.You may work together or split the tasks between you.However you do this, I expect it to be completed by the time this detention ends.I will be back in four hours. If you need anything, I will be working in greenhouse five."

She left.Draco finally looked at Harry and Ron.

"I have no intention of teaming with either of you.I suggest we each take a third of the beds and do the work ourselves."Not waiting for an answer, he turned to walk to the far end of the greenhouse and collect the tools he needed.

Ron looked at Harry."You know, when we do this with Katie and Remus, it's fun.Maybe we should pretend we're doing it for them."But the joke sounded flat and Harry didn't smile.

They all worked in silence for about two hours. Every now and again a vine would shudder, causing Harry to stop what he was doing and stare at it for a while, trying to decide if it was awake.He could see that Ron was working his way across the beds, while he and Draco actually worked them up and down.Harry wracked his brain trying to decide how best to 'talk' with Ron.Finally, they finished turning and started to walk back and forth from the shed, carrying buckets of mulch out. _Disgusting._

Ron stopped Harry as they passed, glancing back to Draco, refilling his own bucket."Well?It's got to be now or never…."

Harry nodded."Suddenly I feel trapped in this.How are we going to make this sound at all…."He stopped as Draco went past, glaring at them.

"Move it.I'm not being kept late because you two can't shut up for a few hours and just get some work done."

Ron went a little red. "Shove off, ferret."

Draco continued on and Harry glared at him. "Let's try not to work so hard on our 'cover', shall we?"

Ron picked his bucket back up and went back to the beds he was working on.Harry returned himself, thinking again how this would work without looking stupid, or planned, when suddenly Malfoy appeared next to him.

"What?"

"Is it just me, or are the vines closer?"

Harry looked up.When they started, all of the vines had been completely dark, totally out of the light cast by the lamps in the centre of the greenhouse.Now, a few leaves were in fact bathed in light.All up and down the greenhouse.

"Think we woke them up?"

"Actually, I think they just sort of sense we're in here.I'm going to go get Professor Sprout.You and Weasely better keep an eye on them.And stay out of reach.A rather unglamorous end for you that would be."

Harry bit back his retort and walked over to Ron as Malfoy left.

"Where is he going?" said Ron, indignantly. "He's not done!"

"He's gone to get Sprout.Look at the vines."

Ron turned from glaring at the front door to glance at the vines.Then he did a double take."They've moved."

Harry nodded, and took out his wand.Ron followed suit.Harry suddenly shivered, both from the cold and the stress._What a night.I'm standing here, ankle deep in mulch in a dank greenhouse trying to see if some man-eating vines are slowly creeping out of the shadows at me.And I've still got to trust the lives of Sirius and Remus to Malfoy. _He smiled at Ron.

"What?"

"This is just all so ridiculous, isn't it?"

Ron gave a snort. "Somehow I always envisioned fighting the powers of darkness to be a bit more glamorous than this, yeah."

They stood there for a long time, staring into the gloom at the vines._Where the hell is Malfoy?_

_ _

"Think he's stalling hoping they'll have eaten us before he gets back?How long does it take to walk 500 feet anyway?"

Harry sighed."I'll go see what's keeping him, okay?"

"Fine."

Harry got back on the path, keeping well to the side away from the vines, and went out the front door, grabbing his cloak as he did.He looked in the direction of greenhouse five, but saw nothing._What is that git doing now?_

He set out through the snow, noticing Draco's prints on the path. Suddenly though, the tracks stopped.Harry stared.They didn't actually stop, he realized, but went off into greenhouse four instead. _What is he doing?Oh my God, what if he's meeting with… who?His father?Dumbledore has practically banned Lucius…._

Thinking in the back of his mind that this was a reasonably stupid thing to do, but unable to stop himself, he held his wand in front of him and went up to the door.He tried to look inside, but it was pitch black.But the snow in front of the door was disturbed; Malfoy had definitely gone inside.He strained to try and hear anything, but the only sounds he could make out were the usual unsettling odd calls and groans that came out of the forbidden forest.He suddenly thought of Aragog, deep somewhere inside the forest, which made him think of Ron._Better get a move on; or Ron might have a bad night…._

Very slowly he pushed the door open soundlessly, and stepped forward._What's in this one again?I can't keep track.At least it's warmer._

"You took your bloody time, Potter," he heard Malfoy say. "What if I'd been attacked by something from the forest?It'd have a damn good head start by now wouldn't it? But that wouldn't be such a tragedy for you, would it?"

Harry couldn't actually see Malfoy, but could tell from his voice that he was standing off to the left of the door. He resisted his urge to light his wand, as Sprout would catch them, and took a step towards Malfoy.

He sighed."Malfoy, I wouldn't be very happy if anyone got eaten by a god-knows-what from the forest. Even you."

Malfoy gave a small chuckle."Really?And why is that?Your Gryffindor heart can't resist the urge to save someone and he the hero again?"

Harry said nothing.There was a long silence.Finally, Draco sighed.

"Professor Lupin told you what happened, I assume."

"What are you talking about Malfoy?"

Suddenly Malfoy appeared on the far side of the small pool of light coming from the door.His face finally had an expression._Is that … sadness?_

"No games, Potter.I'm tired of them.I've had a lifetime of them; only now they aren't really games any more, are they?Now people are dying.Not a game."

Harry stared at him.He actually felt ready to scream in frustration._Talk about put up or shut up time.Please, Sirius; please be right about this. _Still, he said nothing.

Malfoy gave a smirk and shook his head before continuing. "Of course he told you. Him and Black.I'm not going to justify myself to you Potter; I'm not even sure I'm willing to be your friend in some remote way.But I'll tell you what I told them.I'm not going to let anyone else die if I can help it.Let's just stay out of each other's way.At least, thanks to Weasley's continued lack of self-control, nobody would ever guess we were on 'the same side' as it were.Idiot. I doubt either of you got into quite as much trouble as I did for this."

"Malfoy…."

"I'm not interested, Potter.Just keep out of my way, and I'll keep out of yours.I'm not about to take up some mystical crusade with you.I just…. I'm not going to live up to the 'expectations' set for me.I want no part of it.I have my own reasons that are none of your business."

He stepped to move past Harry, but Harry reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him.Malfoy actually flinched and jumped away from him, sneering. "Don't touch me, Potter. I just told you…"

"Draco, stop it!"

Draco froze, stunned to hear Harry address him by his first name.He at least stood where he was and looked at Harry with an expectant, and now tired, expression.

"Yes.Remus told us what happened.And let me tell you something.I have been very, very reluctant to agree with his interpretation of that event.Specifically that you…you willingly and of your own volition let them go.I have been more inclined to believe that you did that as a set up."

Draco actually said nothing, but nodded at him once.

Harry crossed his arms and stood there, glaring at Malfoy."I've actually been told off for my bad attitude on this, you know.And Remus nearly bit Ron's head off when Ron made one to many snide remarks.That's the only thing that even convinced me to try and trust you.Remus doesn't trust people without a damn good reason, obviously.And for whatever reason, he seems to trust you."

Draco looked at the floor. "You don't trust me, you trust Lupin. And Black."

"I don't want to even hear you mention Sirius' name."

"Sorry."

Harry froze, and Draco looked back up at him. _Did he just apologize?_

"Potter, we need to be getting back.Just say truce and we'll…."

"No. There's something else.Remus needs you to do something, if you truly are set on doing the right thing."

There was a long pause, until finally Draco spoke in a very quiet, very surprised voice."Really?" 

_He actually sounds...pleased.But a good pleased or a bad pleased?Am I about to give Draco a chance to do the right thing or deliver Sirius and Remus right into the Death Eaters' hands?_Draco could see that Harry was struggling with something, and, much to Harry's surprise, gave a small sad smile.

"I really did let them go on my own, you know.I had the whole thing worked out; I wasn't going to let my father kill them, and that's exactly what he was going to do.He actually sounded…Gods, he was relishing the idea of killing Professor Lupin.He really, really hates him.He wouldn't dare touch him without a good, socially acceptable reason, but there he was, breaking in… father would just be defending his family against a werewolf.Who would say anything?And I know…I know that, " he hesitated before going on. "I know your godfather is innocent.I've seen Wormtail."

Harry finally stepped forward towards him."You know where he is?"

Draco shook his head."No, I've just seen him.He came to the house once last summer.It wasn't a pleasant visit.He was in trouble over something.The man is mad, Potter.I mean worse than most of them.Nutters."

"Well he'd have to be, wouldn't he?"muttered Harry.

Malfoy sighed."I'm not going to beg you to trust me, Potter.I haven't given up my pride.I'll do whatever Professor Lupin wants.I'll send him a note, shall I?"

Harry nodded._I'm not saying anything else to him.He can just talk to them directly; maybe if he's lying they can tell, since they have a lot more experience with this._

Draco nodded."We really need to be getting back."

"Yes.Let's get Sprout.Did you do anything to the vines? To get me out here?"

Draco shook his head as they stepped back out onto the paths connecting the greenhouses and turned towards number five.

"No.I'd been trying to find a way to talk with you all night.When I saw what was happening, I volunteered to get Sprout hoping you'd follow me.I know you can't trust me as far as you can throw me.I was actually surprised you didn't follow me outright."

Harry gave a mirthless laugh."I was tempted, I'll tell you."

Draco nodded and stopped just before he opened the door to greenhouse five.

"What's Lupin's little boy like?"

Harry was very surprised by this question._Why should he care?_

"He's about five months old.He's…he's a baby.Quiet.Looks like his mum.Why?"

"What's his name?"

"Malfoy…." _Why does he care?! _Harry stopped though, and forced himself to calm down. _Just give him a damn chance.What harm can it do if he knows Malcolm's name?_

"Malcolm," he said, finally."He's named after Katie's grandfather. Why do you care?"

Draco smiled sadly again."I just always thought that Professor Lupin would make a good dad.I'm happy he got the chance.Mr. Malcolm Lupin is lucky, don't you think? Snape thinks a werewolf having a family is insane, but personally between you and me I think you can have a lot worse things for a father than a werewolf."

He opened the door and went in, calling for Professor Sprout.Harry just stayed on the steps, willing himself to think about nothing, because he'd had about all he could take for the night.

***

Professor Sprout sent them on their way after having a look at the vines.Draco went on ahead, and Harry hung back, walking at a slower pace with Ron.

Once Draco was out of earshot, Ron turned to Harry.

"Where…"

"I was talking to Malfoy.Seems _he _wanted to talk to _me_."

"And?"

"And Snuffles and Remus seem to be right about him.I told him they needed his help, but that's it. It's up to them now."

"Unbelievable."

"Well, maybe.He's got his chance.At least Hermione will be satisfied we did that."

Ron sighed. "Yeah."

Harry couldn't stop himself, despite Sirius' warning."Ron, why don't you just talk to Hermione?"

"I don't know.Honestly, I don't.And I really don't want to talk about it."

"Fine."

Back at the castle, Harry stopped and turned in the direction of the owlery. "I'm just going to get Hedwig.Open the window in the tower, would you?"

Before he went to bed, Harry wrote to Sirius.

Sirius-

I've had my 'chat'.Not quite as I had planned – he actually came to me.Seems you were right. Seems – keep that in mind.He will write to Remus.

Love, 

Harry

He gave Hedwig the note.

"Take that to Sirius, would you?" he whispered. "I'm sorry it's so late.It's important."

Hedwig just gave him a light nip on the ear, then soared into the night.Harry fought the urge to sit there and wait for her to get back with a reply, and the urge to leave the window open._Everyone will kill me for freezing the place up.Even Ron._

He finally fell asleep.The next morning, Hedwig arrived at breakfast with a reply from Sirius.

Harry-

Interesting.Thank you.Remus is reading something a large eagle owl dropped off as I write this.Actually, now he's writing something. I recognize the bird.I am also amused to note that Hedwig has turned her back on it. Where did you get such a grumpy, opinionated, and loyal pet?

More later.Good luck with next week's Quiddich match.As always, I expect a play-by-play description.

## Love-

Sirius

Harry showed the note to Ron and risked a glance at the Slytherin table.Malfoy's owl was perched on the back of his chair._Here we go._

_ _

_ _

_ _


	8. Veritas 13

# Vertias 13

** **

Thanksgiving is over.If you are reading this, I'm assuming you survived.Actually, all things considered, it was calmer here than had been anticipated.The ban on discussing the election lasted through two football games, cocktails and most of the main course.

And because these things do bother me – did I really type 10 Privet Drive in the last chapter?I did!What a twit.Residual effects of cold medications, continuing election anxiety, 17 people roaming about looking for turkey…really there's no excuse.My bad.

So now what?Sirius works through an anxiety attack while they wait to hear if Malfoy took the bait….

***

Sirius threw the book he had been trying to read all morning across the room, where it landed heavily with an oddly satisfying smack somewhere behind his desk. He was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything.That was making him anxious, because now he really needed to get it together. He was freezing cold, and the buzzing and voices were intruding on him again, making him think more about what could go wrong than how he was going to make sure it didn't. _Stop it, Black._ _It's almost time. Draco went home this weekend; he's in serious trouble for getting into a fight with Harry.I remember being 'summoned' once or twice myself.At least, with any luck, he'll get off with a minimal reprimand once he let's our little cat out of the bag in front of Lucius._

Sirius' concentration and mood had been deteriorating since last weekend, when Remus had woken him up in the middle of the night.

"Sirius?Wake up; Hedwig and another owl have just arrived.It looks like Malfoy's bird."

Sirius had stumbled, bleary eyed from his sleeping draught, down to the kitchen with Remus.Hedwig perched, tall and proud, on the back of one of the chairs.As soon as Sirius appeared she hopped onto the table and went up to him to give him her note.Hedwig glared at the eagle owl who gave something to Remus, and turned her back to it.

"Well?" asked Sirius, in a dark tone.

"Draco wants to know what we need.I'm not certain I should write it down.Maybe I can arrange to talk to him personally with Dumbledore."

Sirius nodded, and quickly read Harry's note, and raised an eyebrow.

"Draco went to him? That's interesting," he yawned.Then he tapped the note absently on the table top, scowling."You know, maybe you talking with Draco face to face is the best idea.Then you can really get a good look at him, and see if he really does seem, well…."

"Are you exploiting my ability to smell fear, Padfoot?" Remus asked in a joking tone.

But Sirius didn't feel like joking, and responded irritably, "I think I'm making good use of your senses to make sure we're not about to get ourselves killed."

Remus looked at him."Sirius, you've been in a foul mood ever since we sent everyone back to Hogwarts.And you weren't in the best of moods before that."

Sirius couldn't see why Remus managed to speak with such a light voice under the current circumstances._I hate it when he's just so damn calm about everything! _Not really thinking, he snapped back, "Well one of us needs to keep this in perspective, Remus!You've got more to loose than any of us, so perhaps you should be taking this a little more seriously!"

Remus flushed a little, but bit back whatever he was about to say.Instead, he just grabbed some parchment from the bureau and some quills.He set the ink down with a loud clank between them, tossed one of the quills at Sirius, and started to write a note.Sirius grabbed a piece of parchment and hastily wrote his own note, being careful not to let his current agitation with Remus show up in the letter, as sending Harry a letter with a 'bad tone' would only upset him further, and Sirius had enough to feel guilty about. He gave the note to Hedwig, sent her back out into the night, and sat back down.Remus didn't look at him.

Fine.Sulk.I'm not apologizing.

Remus finished what he was working on, gave the letter to the other owl, and then put everything away._So bloody neat. Wait 'till Malcolm starts leaving things about the house, you fastidious git. _Remus turned and walked out of the kitchen in silence.

Sirius and Remus spoke less and less over the next few days, and went out of their way to avoid each other.Katie started giving them both looks around Tuesday afternoon, but as usual said nothing and stayed out of it.Sirius also started to avoid Liz, because he was more and more confused and despondent about whatever chance for a real relationship they might have, and just plain angry that his life was such a disaster. Liz seemed to just take this in stride, and said nothing to him, and was her usual calm and self-assured self whenever he did see her.

Remus did speak to Sirius, in his most calm, polite and controlled tones, after he had had the chance to meet with Malfoy.

"I have just finished talking to Draco.If it is any consolation, I am more firmly convinced than ever that he has made the conscious decision to work against his father.Dumbledore and I have explained what we need from him, and Draco feels that it is actually a very good idea.Lucius will defiantly try to be the one to personally recapture you. As it turns out, Lucius is so angry with Draco for getting into a fight with Harry, whom he was specifically told to stay away from, that Draco has been told to go home this weekend.When he returns on Sunday night, we will know whether or not this will work."Suddenly Remus' calm tone took on an edge. "Think you can control yourself until then?"

Sirius gave him a murderous glance."I guess I'll just have to try, won't I?"

Remus left him, muttering "selfish idiot!" under his breath. 

Around Thursday morning, Sirius had finally started feeling more guilty than angry._A lot of people are depending on me.Especially Harry.James told me to look after him, to make sure he was okay.I certainly haven't had much of a chance, thanks to my own ineptitude, but now I seem to be heading right down the same road that screwed everything up the first time._

But when he went down to lunch, thinking he should say something to Remus and stop the silent treatment, Remus' expression suggested that he was in no mood to hear what Sirius had to say._I've finally completely gotten on his nerves._

"Sirius.Katie, Malcolm and I are going to London for the weekend, to see Katie's patents. We weren't able to see them over Christmas, like we promised them.We'll be back on Sunday.You and Liz should have everything you need here."

Sirius just nodded. Remus gave him one last look, his expression softening a bit, but he just sighed as he walked out of the kitchen. _I suspect he's just putting as much space between us as he can._

Sirius' suspicions about Remus' motives were confirmed the next morning when he overheard Katie talking with Liz in the front hall as she prepared to leave.

"We'll be back the day after tomorrow, so you can all get ready.There's absolutely nothing you can do until word gets back from Draco, and we won't have that until Sunday night at the earliest.Remus is, as I'm sure you noticed, rather on edge and about to pitch a fit a Sirius, even though he truly hates fighting with him.Their fights can get a little ugly."

"This hasn't been fighting?"

"Not exactly.This is more like a precursor to any real action.At this point they either make up or really go off each other.It's not pretty; imagine all that energy and intellect focused on nothing but totally angering the other.I think separating them for a day or so at least is a good idea.Will you be okay? We are leaving you two here unchaperoned…." Sirius heard Katie give a small laugh as she said this.

"I think we can handle it.Sure you don't want to leave the little marauder with us and enjoy being unchaperoned yourself?You can always see your parents later."

Katie laughed again."I'd love it.But, as Remus pointed out, my parents haven't seen Malcolm since he was born, and we didn't make it there during Christmas like we'd planned because Remus wasn't up to it, and then once he was better the moon had come 'round again.So we owe them, and this makes sure they don't suddenly decide to come _here_ of their own volition."

"Would they? I thought they weren't keen on the wizard world."

"They're not.But Malcolm is exciting enough that they would find a way to manage their 'issues' and come anyway.Also, they've rather taken to Remus, who is working very hard to forge a good relationship with them.So off to grandmama's house we go, right sweetie?"

"What does Remus talk to them about?"

"Oh, any number of things.Literature and history, mostly.And gardening."

"Do they know…?"

"No.That they couldn't handle. And it's none of their business. Say goodbye to Sirius for me once he's up.I've made extra doses of the light sleeping draft I give him occasionally, if he needs it.And make sure he eats."  
  
"We'll be fine, really.Have a good time."

"Yes, well this little trip may be good for Remus' nerves, but it's going to get on mine, although I am making an effort with the old dears.Liz, be kind to Sirius.I know he's wretched company at the moment, but he's got a lot of things on his mind.You know he means well."

"I do.Don't worry."

"Me?I never worry about a thing, now do I?"

***

Liz had gone to spend Saturday morning with Mrs. Noyes, finalizing the spell for the wellspring.Sirius was actually rather glad she hadn't seen him snap and heave his book around like some five year old.They had spoken very little last night, and Sirius had gone to bed early, after dutifully eating some dinner.He had tried to write a letter to Harry, because he wanted to assure him that everything really was okay, but couldn't put anything down.He discovered that his thoughts just kept going back to the fact that Harry had had a really bad time of it, and that was because of the bad decisions Sirius had made._And now I'm right back there.Good job, James.You told me I'd be great at this godfather bit, and all I seem to do is find ways to make things worse. _He finally gave up and went to sleep, grateful that Katie had left some sleeping drafts so he wouldn't dream.

Sirius left his study to just roam around the house, basically just pacing for the rest of the afternoon.Sirius had nothing more constructive to do than wait._Wait for Liz to get back, although I don't know if I really want that, being in the mood I'm in._He was more on edge than ever thinking about everything that could go wrong with what they were about to do; and this was obviously getting on everyone's nerves._That is why Remus ran out of here. It was that or get into a fight, like Katie said; we all saw that coming._

Sirius ended up in Remus' study, staring intently at the pictures over the mantelpiece.He looked for a long time at a picture of himself, Remus and James, standing in the meadow, talking animatedly about something._We were 16 then.We'd become animagi, and we were invincible.Just look at us._Angrily, he turned from the fireplace to stand in front of Remus' desk instead.He looked down at the ancient desk, lost in thought._This had been Mr. Lupin's desk.I remember standing in front of it many times when I was that impossibly young boy back there.It's still here; it hasn't changed. An odd an anchor in my rather chaotic life. I wonder if Mr. Lupin was sitting here when they told him about me._

He absently traced a finger over the knot in the grain at the top of the desk, thinking back._It's odd the things I do remember, because there's so much I lost…._

_ _

_ _

***

The Lupins had been very surprised to open their door that night and find Sirius standing there, his eyes red from crying and his broom slung carelessly over his shoulder, but they instantly brought him inside.

"Sirius, dear, what's wrong?" asked Mrs. Lupin, as she wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and sat him in front of the fire that was always blazing in Mr. Lupin's study."Did you just fly here all the way from your house?Let me get you some tea, sweetheart."

Sirius just pulled the blanked closer around him, staring at the fire.He knew tonight was an especially bad night to come here, but the Potters were away…and Mr. Potter, really, was alright but…_well he's not you. And he's friends with them…._

He did drink the tea Mrs. Lupin pressed into his hands, but still didn't say anything.He finally glanced out the window towards the back garden.He could see the shed very clearly in the light of the full moon.

"Is Remus okay?" he finally asked, in a small voice.

Mrs. Lupin smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder as she stood to leave.

"He'll be fine, dear.I'm sure he will be very happy to see you in the morning."She left, but Sirius saw her exchanged concerned glances with her husband before she closed the door behind her.Mr. Lupin sat down behind his gigantic old desk and said nothing.After a while he picked up his quill and went back to work on whatever he was doing.Sirius just finished his tea, and tried not to think about the fight he'd just had with his own parents._I'll never do anything right for them.Nothing's good enough.So what if James finished ahead of me this year?So what?Just one more thing I didn't do right.Pembroke and Harold have never seemed to be able to spell their own names correctly, but all I ever hear about them is how wonderful and well behaved they are._

_ _

Mr. Lupin finally broke the silence."Sirius, of course you don't have to say anything to me.I assume you came here to talk to Remus.But I do not like seeing you so upset.Is there anything I can do?Did you have a row with your parents again?"

Sirius didn't look at him, but he finally spoke. "Yes, sir."

"Parents can be bloody awful at times, can't they?"

Sirius did look up now, very surprised at this comment.Mr. Lupin was now sitting in his chair with his hands folded, smiling the same quiet and slightly sad smile Remus usually did.

"You seem to manage alright," Sirius said.

Mr. Lupin chuckled."Thank you.But I think that if you talk with Remus you'll find that we have our share of sticky moments.Don't think Remus gets any … special treatment… from us."

Sirius shook his head."I know that.But at least you care about him.All my parents seem to care about is what other people think about me."

"Well, I think you're a rather splendid young chap, if a little lacking in self control.But you're 15, so I can't hold that against you.So was I at your age; that's what being 15 is all about.Shall I put that in the letter I'm going to send to your house telling your parents you'll be here for a few days?"

Sirius started to say something, but Mr. Lupin held up a hand."Young man, of course they want to know where you are and that you are alright.Don't be so unfair, particularly to yourself."

"No, sir."

Sirius stood up and came to stand in front of the huge old desk.He traced the pattern of a know near the top where he stood.Finally he looked at Mr. Lupin.

"**Is** it alright if I stay here a few days?"_Mr. Potter would take me right home. Again._

"Of course.You are always welcome here, Sirius.Try not to break any arms this time, though.Yours or Remus'."

Sirius finally smiled.He looked back outside, then spoke again.

"Mr. Lupin?Would it be alright if I just went and sat in the garden for a while?"

Mr. Lupin's cheek twitched, and he picked up his quill again to continue writing. "Yes, son. But keep that blanket with you, and I'll be out to get you in a bit.It's very late and you should be getting some rest."

Sirius went to the door, but stopped before he walked out.

"Mr. Lupin?James and I don't sleep much these nights either."

There was a pause, and then a sigh."I suppose not."

***

And this house was once again his refuge. He had ended up spending two weeks here that summer, before he and Remus went to visit James.Sirius had stayed at the Potters the rest of the summer, returning home only to collect his school things.His parents hadn't even been home when he did return, and his uncle had taken him to London to catch the train.His parents had left a rather chilly note that reminded him to behave himself and that if he spent more of his efforts applying himself to his work then he would have more acceptable results.And once again they pointed out that in their entire time at Hogwarts neither of them had lost so much as a point for either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and had never suffered the indignity of serving any detentions._That's because they were a pair of uptight bastards._

Sirius heard the front door._Liz is back._He turned to meet her, and caught a glimpse of a picture of Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting on the bookcase, looking almost the same as the one of himself, Remus and James on the mantle.They were all smiling happily at each other; this had been taken last summer, out in the meadow._Thank God Harry's happy now.Or at least, happier than he was._Everything they had feared would go wrong when he was born had happened. His parents were dead, and Harry had been forced to go live with the wretched Petunia.And his life there had been as miserable as Lily had feared it would be.Sirius wished, for the umpteenth time, that he could at least have been there, and that he could have done what James had asked him to.He was trying, now, but so much had passed, and so much had happened.

He walked into the entry hall to meet with Liz, who still managed to smile at him despite what he had been like the past week.He walked over to her, took the bags she held and put them on the table, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Liz," he whispered, "I'm sorry.I'm just…"

"Shush.Really, Sirius, I'm not being valiant, but it is okay.I understand that you're worried."

"I feel like I'm letting everyone down again.Especially Harry."

"You're not letting anyone down, Sirius.And you didn't be…"

Sirius stopped her."I did, Liz.I made a very stupid choice."

Liz pulled back and looked at him.Then she picked up her bags again and went into the kitchen.She glanced at Sirius, and he understood that he was supposed to follow her. Once in the kitchen Liz looked at him, then at the table.He went over, and sat down, reaching to grasp one of Malcolm's toys that sat on the tabletop where it had been left. 

"Harry had one of these.A toy griffin, you know.I'm not sure where he got it."

Liz looked over."Katie won't be happy that's here.That's one of his favourites."

Sirius laughed as he ran his hand over the soft fleece on the muzzle of the toy."She's got Remus.That's still Malcolm's favourite.This won't be too badly missed if daddy's there."

"Point taken.Uncle Padfoot seems to be rather well received, too, you know."

Sirius felt like crying.He pictured Harry, as small as Malcolm had been, and what their lives had been like then.Despite everything, everyday had been filled with so much promise._I'm so sorry, Harry. I did kill them. Maybe I didn't say the words, but…_ Remus had told him, reluctantly, that Harry relived that might when the Dementors came near him._He could hear them. That's the memory of James and Lily he has. Not their happy voices, talking nonsense to him.Not Lily singing to him, slightly off key but with so much love; not James teaching him to say 'Daddy'.The sound of their voices when they were dying.The last things they ever said._

_ _

Suddenly he did start to cry.It was too much._And what of Malcolm?Will I take Remus from him? Will he never remember the father who loved him so much he bursts into tears sometimes just looking at him?_

_ _

Lizcame over and without a word knelt next to him and wrapped her arms around him again.Sirius just leaned against her, weeping, for some time.Finally, he managed to regain his composure and he pulled back, running a hand down her impossibly calm and sympathetic face.

"Thank you," he whispered, standing up and going to stand near the window.He gazed out at the snow covering Remus and Katies' lovely garden.Liz moved to stand near him, but this time she didn't touch him.They were silent for along time, as the sun set over the meadow, and the shadows lengthened across the brick floor.The room glowed in the red light of the dusk, and Sirius leaned his head against the soothing cool windowpanes.

"Red sky at night, sailors' delight."

Sirius didn't look 'round."What's that?"

"Red sky at night, sailors' delight.Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.There shouldn't be any weather tonight.No new snow."

Sirius had to smile. "That sounds a little too superstitious for a Ravenclaw."

"Actually, it's pretty accurate."

Sirius finally turned to look at her.Like everything else in the sunset, she seemed to glow red, especially her hair.Sirius held out his hand and was oddly grateful when she took it.

"I love you, you know.I really do.I hardly recognize myself these days.I'm not at all sure about who I am, but I do know that.I'm not sure that's very comforting."

Liz smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze."You're definitely a challenge, but that's alright.I think we'll get all of this worked out.I would feel better if you'd tell me why it's been so bad lately."

Sirius sighed."I've been thinking a lot about Harry; he's really not happy with us about Draco, you know.I forced him to trust me.And what reason does he really have to do that?"

"You're his godfather, Sirius.He loves you very much, and you two have become very close.Of course he trusts you."

Sirius laughed. "You must have had a decent godfather, then.When James asked me to do this, I was stunned.I never really thought about what this was.I told him off, tried to get him to pick someone else."

Liz smiled."I think he knew exactly what he was doing when he picked you."

He smiled back at her and shook his head._Of course he did.This was James, after all._

***

When James asked Sirius to be the baby's godfather he was stunned."James, I'm not even sure what a godfather's supposed to do.Mine just seems to send me rather stuffy books on my birthday with a note that says he hopes I'm behaving myself.I don't appreciate that one bit, and I'm certainly not going to do that to your kid, I'll tell you right now."

James laughed, but had a serious look about him."Sirius, a godparent is supposed to be someone that you would want to see after the well being of your child if you aren't there to do it.Lots of times I think people don't really take the job seriously; people do this more as an honorary thing, you know?Something for your best friend and all that.Well, you've been my best friend since we were five, Sirius, so that's alright.But let's face it.Things are starting to get very dangerous.Something might happen to any of us.If something happens to Lily and me, I want you to take care of the baby for us."

Sirius couldn't think of anything to say for a while, but James waited.

"James, you think I could do this?I have no parenting skills or instincts.My own parents are awful, you know that, so I've hardly had a decent example set.I'm not sure I'm up to this.Ask Remus.He has a much better picture of what proper parenting is about."

James shook his head."I want you to be the godfather.This isn't about parenting skills, it's about protection.I can't imagine my child with a better guardian than you.Besides, let's just keep in mind that I don't have any real intention of turning this boy of girl over to you in the first place."

***

Liz sighed. "Sirius; Harry treasures you, you know that.Despite what you think you did. James made the right choice when he asked you to do this."

Sirius stood now in the near total darkness of the night.Shivering, he took out his wand and lit every lamp in the house with a single spell.Liz blinked at the sudden flood of light, but said nothing.

Sirius walked back to where she stood and looked at her.

"You need to talk about these things with Harry, Sirius."

"I know.But finding a good time?That's a little elusive."

"Maybe.Maybe you just need to do it, no matter that."

Sirius looked at her."Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Will you sleep with me tonight?Just sleep, honestly.Just… just be there.We can sleep on the couch in the front room if you like, pretend we fell asleep watching that telly…."

Liz waved a hand to silence him, but said nothing for a time._I knew it.I screwed this up….,_

"Let's just go watch some telly, why don't we?It can take our minds off things.And if we fall asleep there, so be it."

Sirius smiled at her."Thank you, Miss Harker."

"I told you before Mr. Black. I think you're worth the effort."

***

A few hours after Remus and Katie got back on Sunday, a now familiar eagle owl soared into the front room.Remus read the note, then sent the owl on its way.

"Lucius has never been more proud of his son.This Wednesday, Malfoy will be waiting to catch out Dumbledore openly consorting with a convicted murderer. The wellspring will be virtually empty.We're on."


	9. Veritas 14

# Veritas 14

They enter the wellspring…Liz finally learns the truth about Padfoot…and they discover what lurks behind the wards.

This is a big piece – so no more for a few days!

***

On Wednesday morning Sirius woke up feeling strangely energized.And in a better mood than he had been in weeks.He dressed quickly in warm dark muggle trousers and jumper, then grabbed his boots and padded downstairs to the kitchen.Whatever had been building to a fever pitch between Remus and himself had dissipated once the Lupins returned from London.They had agreed that they were not going to solve all of life's problems having a screaming fit at each other, so called a truce and refocused all of their energy on finishing off the business at the hidden encampment once and for all.

Sirius entered the kitchen to find Remus and Malcolm.Remus was busy getting Malcolm his breakfast.

"Letting Katie have a lie in?" asked Sirius, picking up Malcolm.His heart soared as usual when Malcolm laughed and smiled at him as he did this.

"She'll be left to manage on her own for a few days while we're gone, so it seems fair I take care of most of this before we go._So _magnanimous of me because it's _such _a chore…." Remus grinned.

"Uh huh.Can I help?I'll give him his bottle, if that's alright."

Remus smiled and handed Sirius a cloth and a bottle. "Of course it is. And that leaves me conveniently free to fix you a little breakfast.What do you want?"

"Full English."

Remus laughed."Why is it when you cook we tend to get magiced oatmeal?"

"Because that's about what I can handle.You really want a go at my attempt at eggs?"

Remus shook his head."No.Remember I have been subject to your cooking.It may have been 15 years ago, but the memory lingers."

Sirius looked at Malcolm."Daddy can be a ungracious prat at times, my little marauder, but I'll forgive him while he's preparing my food.Dangerous to upset the cook, you know."

"Very. We're out of kippers, so you're going to have to settle for sausages.Will that be acceptable, my Lord Black?"

Sirius laughed."Can you just imagine if timing in our family had been a little different and in fact I _was _my Lord Black?"

Katie walked in at that moment. She gave Sirius an amused look as she walked over to Remus."There's a title in your family?" she asked sleepily, wrapping her arms around her husband as he worked.

"Just a little muggle one. But the way some family members took it you'd think it was the most important thing on the earth. My grandfather was the only one who vocally expressed distaste at the whole concept.I loved that man.My role model in life."

Remus chuckled."Sirius' grandfather was a truly fantastic old chap.Came up with some of our best pranks.He relished living vicariously through us, once he discovered we couldn't resist a challenge.Just a little hint to Sirius in a letter, then in a week or so he'd get a full account of just how we'd managed to pull it all off."

Sirius smiled, shifting Malcolm slightly."After my grandfather passed, my dad found all our letters.Grandfather had kept them all.That was a very unhappy night.They had never got on as it was, and now he had proof that the man had been contributing to the 'continued problem' of my 'boorish behaviour'."Sirius sighed. "Maybe that was the night my dad realized that I just didn't like him.You're a lucky one Malcolm.Not all of us get the chance to have parents they actually like."

Katie gave him a knowing wink as she came to sit next to him at the table with a cup of coffee.

Remus started to say something, but stopped and greeted Liz instead as she came into the kitchen.

"Good morning.I hope you slept well, as it's going to be a long day.I'm busy making full English.Would you like one, or something else?"

"Oh, full English, absolutely.Thank you."

Remus handed her a cup of coffee as she passed him and went to sit at the large old wooden table with Sirius and Katie. Sirius winked at her.

"Well I am happy to see that lovely green shirt again."

Liz smiled at him. "Thank you.It's been reinforced this time with a few extra layers.I have a feeling it is going to be bitterly cold in those caves."

Sirius grimaced."Yes.And probably very wet as well.Have you charmed your boots and clothes yet to repel water?It helps somewhat."

"Remind me before we leave.Hadn't thought of that."

The adults ate their breakfast in relative silence.Sirius fought to think about nothing but how good his breakfast tasted, because he could feel he was getting very tense and wound up again, and knew from Remus' glances that the anxiety must just be pouring out of him.Sirius finished eating first, and picked Malcolm up again, just to hold him.

"Well, shall we run over this once more?"

Remus nodded."I think we just get down there as quickly as possible.We'll be able to tell pretty quickly if they have moved the spells, or even noticed that they were reset by us as we left.If it's the same as before, we'll be able to make it down faster because we know where everything is, and what to expect."He looked at Sirius."Including the dementors."

Sirius frowned and shook his head."Remus, I've tried to get my Patronus back up to speed, but I really just don't have it in me.Not like I used to.You and Liz really need to take the lead on those."

Remus smiled. "I know that.Not a problem, so don't fret.I'm more concerned with keeping them away from you at all.You got a nasty shock last time, but I also suspect that we very much surprised them, so that's why Liz and I managed to drive them out reasonably quickly."

"Remus," said Liz, "do you think that we will just have the four dementors to deal with again?"

"I think that those were dementors who lived naturally in that cave, and they tend to live in small groups.It's just very convenient for the Death Eaters that you have to cross their territory to get to the wellspring.You don't exactly strike alliances with these creatures, so there is no reason for them to be there at the request of Malfoy or something. They guard Azkaban because it suits them, not because the Ministry has anything to offer them."

Remus stopped and stood up to take his dishes to the sink, and then looked at Sirius.Then Sirius saw him give a sideways glance at Katie before he went on._What's he up to?_

"Actually, Liz, there are other ways of dealing with Dementors besides a Patronus…."

Sirius stood as quickly as he dared and handed Malcolm to Remus, taking the opportunity of standing so close to glare directly into his eyes._Stop it._

"Trying to distract me Padfoot?" Remus said, very softly.

"Yes, damn it.What are you doing?Let me deal with this on my own," Sirius replied in an angry whisper.

"Do it now," said Remus, still in a very soft voice, cradling Malcolm and brushing the bangs off his forehead.He smiled as Malcolm smiled at him and grabbed at his hand.

"No.When we get back, I promise.I think we have enough on our minds today, don't you?"

"Sirius, it occurred to me last night that you might have a better time of this if, when we get to the cave with those things, that you take Padfoot down there, as he doesn't have the same problems you do. You said yourself…."

"Remus, please."

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

Sirius sighed and rubbed his hands across his face."I don't know.Look, this is bad timing; just leave it all.What if she is angry with me over this?We need to be focused on what we're doing.Her mad, me upset – that's not ideal is it?"

Remus sighed this time."Alright.But do me one favour.When we do get there, Liz and I will go on ahead and deal with them. Four dementors between he two of us isn't that bad. You hang back in the tunnel, and you **do **transform. I'll come back to get you once they've gone.Deal?"

"Deal," agreed Sirius. "Actually, that does make sense."

The finally broke their huddle and walked back across the kitchen to the table where the women sat.

"So, are we about ready then?" asked Remus, keeping his voice light.But Sirius saw his eyes darken a bit as Katie stood up to take Malcolm from him._We're ready, Remus.And we'll be home soon._

_ _

***

They apparated into the woods near the entrance to the wellspring cave.Just in case, they chose not to return directly to the cave entrance.They were still reasonably certain that their last visit was undetected, but Liz had insisted they take this extra precaution.They walked in silence the short distance to the cave entrance.The snow in the area looked like a large number of people had gone inside last night or the day before.Sirius frowned.

"Our hosts?"

Remus shook his head."Muggles.The Death Eaters would have erased this evidence.The question is, are they still inside?"

Remus stepped forward into the cave, lighting his wand.Liz followed with Sirius.He noticed she had a dark expression. 

"What is it?"

"I can't help but worry if these muggles stumble across the Death Eaters.I can't imagine that would be good."

Sirius shook his head and took her hand."They don't want any detection.I suspect they'd ignore them or find some way to scare them off.Conjure up a fake ghost or something.James did that once to scare some muggles away from his favourite fishing spot.Not very sporting, but he wasn't in the mood to 'act muggle' and share."

They heard Remus call out just ahead around he corner.They moved into the large chamber before the entrance to the shaft that led to the wellspring.The 'ceremonial markings' were still all over the walls, as they had been in the fall.Only now there was also an impressive collection of beer cans, bottles, and evidence that muggles had been burning wood fires in the chamber.

"They could suffocate!" said Liz."There must be an opening up in the ceiling somewhere."

Remus gave a bottle a kick, frowning.Sirius couldn't resist.

"Poor Remus, how can you stand this mess!?"

Remus just smiled dangerously at him over his shoulder as he took out his wand."Oh, I don't know.Makes me feel rather nostalgic for your old flat.All we need is a beautiful antique table strewn with oily motorbike parts and I'd hardly be able to tell them apart."

"Liz, don't you dare pay any attention to that drivel."

Remus waved his wand and said an incantation Sirius didn't recognize.Suddenly, all of the cans and bottles floated into the air, and started to drift back and forth across the ceiling in lazy circles.Remus smiled, and moved forward to the shaft entrance.

Liz laughed."Um, Remus, are you going to leave those like that?"

"He's trying to scare the muggles, Liz.Teach them a lesson.If you don't pick up after yourself, your own trash will come to life.They won't actually dive at anyone, will they, Remus?"

Remus shook his head."No.Odd enough to worry about, innocuous enough so that muggles who are determined to believe that everything can be explained with 'science' will be able to justify that with a long winded tale of magnetism or air drafts from the caves.Coming?"

Sirius smiled."See Liz? I've always told you there is a creative and rather vindictive streak in this man."

They made their way down the shaft fairly quickly.No one had been in there since they had come back from their last visit, so it was easier to move and break their own spells as they went.It was soaking, however, and bitterly cold.Sirius' teeth kept chattering and he could see his breath clouding in front of him as he moved.Even through his gloves his fingers lost their feeling about halfway down.

Finally, they reached the end of the shaft and stood at the tunnel that led to the cave where they had met with the dementors last time.Sirius couldn't tell if it felt colder because they were close, or because it was actually colder down here.Remus caught his eye, and Sirius nodded at him.

"Liz," said Remus quietly, turning to her. "You and I will go forward and clear the dementors off, alright?I think the less we expose Sirius to them, the better."

"Yes.Let's go."Liz gave Sirius a smile before she followed Remus forward.Sirius waited until he couldn't hear them, then changed in the total darkness of the tunnel.He didn't exactly relax, but as he lay down on the floor and rested his head in his paws, he did feel better as the less complicated mind of the dog clouded over all the thoughts that had bothered him as a human.

He had no sense of time here in the pitch black tunnel.Finally, he caught a familiar sent.His tail started to wag as Remus suddenly appeared a ways in front of him.He jumped up and ran over, not thinking, just relieved not to be alone in that dark place anymore….

"Padfoot! Stop! Change back right now."Remus had grabbed him by the ruff of his neck as Padfoot had started to push past him, suddenly eager to get out of the tunnel.

Sirius came back, catching himself as he swayed, off balance from the sudden change.Remus held on to the collar of his jacket and made sure he was alright before he let go.

"I take it you were successful?"

"Yes; just the four like last time.Let's go quickly, though."

They came back to the end of the tunnel, and jumped down into the open chamber.Liz sat quietly on one of the boulders, cupping her hands around a dim blue fireball.She smiled at Sirius when he came over and extinguished the fireball.

"Good.Let's go."

Sirius put an arm around her shoulders as they moved to enter the tunnel that led to the spell circle.

"I owe you, Miss Harker."

"Think nothing of it, Mr. Black.Happy to oblige."

They stopped before turning the corner to the spell circle, and extinguished their wands.Sirius took the lead in stepping forward to peer into the darkness.Last time there had been light coming form the chamber as people were inside working.This time, there was nothing.He moved well around the corner, and quickly transformed, sniffing the air.Nothing.Just as quickly he switched back and lit his wand, so that Remus and Liz knew it was okay to come.

Sirius moved to the edge of the spell circle.It seemed to look even more dangerous and ominous now, as they stood there in the dim light of their wands gazing down at it.Wordlessly, Liz opened her pack and started to remove her ingredients.

"Do you need us to do anything?" asked Remus quietly.

"Just keep giving me enough light to see.I want to double check all of this, to make sure the ghost image didn't miss anything."

Liz reviewed the spell, taking various ingredients and checking them as she did so.Finally, she stood up.

"Okay, here goes nothing.We have covered all of the ingredients.I must say, I'm extremely grateful that you got the right earth with the hidden water.This spell is very strong and if we had attempted to do this with anything else, I'm not sure we would be successful."

"Are there any guardians?" Asked Sirius, watching as she started to mix her ingredients in preparation for pouring them onto the spell marker.

"Yes.Fire guardians.So keep your wands ready."

She started to mutter a spell under her breath, slowly pouring out her ingredients over the spell marker, completely covering the area.As she poured, Sirius saw the blue grey mixture melt and turn yellow as it hit Malfoy's handiwork.Soon the whole marker was covered, and looked like the top of a cauldron, bubbling and steaming.Suddenly, beads of the yellow liquid seemed to jump up and start to roll out down the sides of the spell circle.

The spell circle began to smoulder; wisps of smoke curled and snaked upwards.Sirius watched, hypnotized._It almost seems alive_.Suddenly they heard small popping sounds.The smoke turned red, and began to flow faster.They heard a soft whining sound start, like log that was too green put on the fire.Remus grabbed them both by the arm.

"Step back!It's going to flare…."

They had stepped back only a short distance when the circle burst into an inferno in a single second.Fire roared; the flames reaching so high they spread out along the ceiling. Sirius heard Remus say an incantation, and suddenly something shimmered in front of them.Sirius could no longer feel the intense heat from the flames.Suddenly, though, an arm of flame seemed to leap from the circle towards them.It hit Remus' spell, and snaked upwards and around.They seemed to be closed in a room of fire.Remus had gone very pale, and he continued to mutter his spell under his breath, finally closing his eyes so he didn't see how close they were to the flames.Liz had closed her hand firmly on Remus' arm.She seemed to be incanting something as well.

Finally, the flames disappeared.As suddenly as they had risen, they vanished.They were plunged into total darkness, and Sirius quickly muttered 'Lumos', just so he could get a handle on what had occurred.Remus' eyes flew open, and he sank to his knees, gasping for breath.Liz bent down to have a look at him.He did manage to smile weakly at her and reached up to run a hand through his hair while his breathing slowed.

"Thanks, Liz.I needed that extra support.That was the most intense ignis vehemens I've seen in a while."

"You alright?Look, the circle is destroyed, at least.We can get over there."

"I'm fine.Sirius, can you see anything?"

Sirius stared into the darkness, dimming his wand more and more so that it didn't distract him with its glare.

"No, Moony.Looks pretty empty.You wait here, and I'll go and get a quick look."

Sirius crept forward soundlessly.He hesitated for a second before he stepped onto the remains of the spell, but once he had placed a foot in the circle, and nothing happened, he moved forward after flashing a quick grin back at Liz.The end of the tunnel was a few paces after the circle ended.Very slowly he looked into the cave on the other side.

He heard the running water of the well spring, and could see, very faintly the water flowing off to his left.Stepping forward a little, he knelt to inspect the ground.The dirt was covered in any number of old footprints, from a number of different people, covering the floor.Obviously people moved about freely in here, so he doubted there were any spells.He stepped to the edge of the water and peered into the darkness on the other side.He could just make out what looked very much like a wooden staircase rising up along the cave wall and seeming to disappear into the wall around a corner of the rock.He followed the water forward a bit and found where the ward spells were cast, on a small islet of rock in the middle of the water flow just before it disappeared into the ground again.

Sirius looked once more in the direction of the stairs, then went back to the tunnel.Remus was standing now, though he still looked a little more pale than usual.

"Long day old friend?"

"You might say that.Well?"

"Come and see.The ward spells are in the middle of the stream in there, and there's a staircase leading up to something."

Liz and Remus followed him into the chamber.Remus immediately went to have a look at the ward spells while Liz followed Sirius to get a look at the staircase.She glanced at the water flowing in the stream.

"Water repelling charms or no, I'm not wading through that to get over there."With that, she raised her wand, and looked at Sirius with a raised eyebrow.Sirius nodded and she waved her wand at the water. "Praeficio"

Sirius chuckled as a small thin plank popped into existence and stretched across the stream.Liz gave him a questioning look as she stepped over the stream.

"Remind me when we aren't quite so preoccupied with other matters to tell you about the time James mispronounced that spell."

Liz smiled and waved Remus over.Remus looked at the plank, then at Sirius, and laughed very quietly.Sirius nodded and walked over, followed by Remus.

Liz erased the plank and they stepped forward to the staircase. Remus tentatively reached out to run his hand along the banister and peer closely at the work.

"This is very old.And it's been made by muggles, look."

Sirius glanced at the joins."Remus, you now what I think?I bet this is one of those old muggle smuggler's caves.There's a lot of room here to keep things hidden in, and it's not exactly an accessible place.That means that there is probably a house at the top of these stairs.There was an old road running nearby, remember.It may not be used now, but it probably was once one of the few paths through the forest."

"I thought smuggler' caves were mostly along the sea coast."

"Mostly, yeah, but we're right down near the coast, and they had to move the goods around somehow.Where better than here?We're directly on the line, really, between Southampton and Bournemouth.And if you go north, you'll hit Salisbury.Perfect spot to manage a little smuggling from."

"Well, the question really still is what are the Death Eaters doing with it?Let's go upstairs, shall we?"

Liz stopped them."Do we need to?Perhaps we should just destroy the ward spells and get out of here."

Sirius shook his head."Liz, we need to know what's going on here.And we need to destroy the house, if it is a house.Bringing down the wards won't stop them just…."

"Delay them. Good point.You'll need to actually set fire to the house.It's the only thing that will harm it with those wards in place.Maybe we can destroy the wards first, then go upstairs?"

Remus put one foot tentatively on the first step and looked up into the darkness."I don't recommend that.We have no idea how many people are up there, and if they'll notice the wards are down.We need all the advantage we can get.Let's just be very careful not to set any fires if we can help it without bringing the wards down or we might get trapped.I didn't see any binding spells over there, but who knows what's up here."

Remus slowly started up the stairs, looking for any spells.Sirius sent Liz next and brought up the rear himself.He glanced back occasionally to see if anything might have come up behind them, but nothing moved other than the water.Finally, Remus stopped.Sirius could see a large wooden door in front of him.

"Is it locked?" whispered Liz.

Remus shook his head."Oddly enough, no. Are we ready?"

Sirius and Liz both nodded.Sirius couldn't help but think it wasn't locked because they were waiting for them….

Remus tapped the door with his wand and it opened silently.They stepped forward into a dank room lined with panelling that was cracked and had paint peeling from it.The walls had once been white, but now were a filthy tired grey.The carpet on the floor looked like it was home to any number of creatures, and it gave Sirius the creeps to even be standing on it.Unable to help himself, he stepped off the carpet onto the hearth as he finished looking around the room.There was no furniture, no decorations of any kind.The windows had their shutters sealed, and little light came in, although it appeared to be dusk outside.

Remus glanced at him, and then nodded towards the other door across the room.Sirius reluctantly stepped back onto the filthy old rug and moved to stand next to Remus.Liz came up with them and they stopped at the door.Remus leaned forward, head tilted, as he stared at the door.

"Hear anything? Smell anything?"

Remus shook his head."I don't think I could smell anything over this disgusting carpet anyway.Not at this time of the month at least. I'll just open this slightly.Liz, you and Sirius go stand there on the other side of the door.Unfortunately it opens outwards into the hall, so we won't get a clear look down the other way without risking being seen.Ready?"

Sirius and Liz held their wands in front of them and nodded.Remus reached out to grasp the door handle, but suddenly pulled his hand back and gave a slight gasp.Sirius gave Liz a quick look to tell her to stay where she was, and stepped over to Remus.His mouth was twisted in a grimace as he clutched his hand and rubbed it, shaking his head.

"Remus?"

"Well, that was a stupid thing to do.The door handle, under all that filth, would appear to be solid silver. Guess these smugglers were doing alright."He held up his hand and Sirius could make out a nasty looking burn.He took Remus' hand, muttered a spell, and watched the burn vanish. Remus relaxed. "Thank you.Why don't _you_ open the door, dear Padfoot?"

Sirius grinned."Certainly.Step out of the way, would you, dear Moony?"

Sirius gave Liz a wink as he went to open the door. "We're going to try this again.All set?"

"All set."

Sirius opened the door.He could see nothing, save a red carpet running down a red walled hall.Dark mahogany wainscoting rose about two feet off the walls, and the floor that was visible looked like it was white marble.Ornate lamps made out of black wrought iron hung, dimly lit, every few feet from the red ceiling.

He heard Remus whisper, "see anything?"

"Nothing except an appalling lack of design taste."

He heard Remus give a small groan then felt him step up close on his side. Remus shoved him a bit and looked down the opposite side of the hall.

"Well, you're right about that at least.Where now?"

Sirius pointed to the door at the far end of the hallway, which seemed to be ajar."That looks promising."

Sirius watched Remus as he leaned forward to get a good look.Remus glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and smiled."Well, it certainly looks the most promising to get us in trouble. And you claim you've changed."

Remus retook the lead, moving past Sirius without a sound to walk slowly forward.Sirius glanced back at Liz, who moved forward next to him and then started after Remus.Glancing back once in the other direction, Sirius followed them both.They stopped around the door. Remus, with a very intense look now as Sirius recognized him concentrating every sense on what he was doing, gave the door a very small push.No light came from under the door, Sirius noted, so it was safe to assume nobody was in the room.Remus got the door open just enough to get his head around it to see what was up.When he pulled back he had a wide grin on his face.

Remus stepped forward and pushed the door open completely.Then he stepped forward, motioning for Sirius and Liz to follow."Well, well, well.Look at what we have here."

The room had probably once been the main dining room of the house, as it was long with a high ceiling and a huge fireplace in the centre.Its walls and the ceiling had once been painted sky blue, and the fireplace was the same white marble all the floors seemed to be made of.This room was now, however, lined with a number of long thin tables.One the tables were any number of fascinating and dangerous looking things._Even the books seem ominous._

Remus and Liz hurriedly moved forward, inspecting.They were whispering excitedly to themselves as Sirius busied himself with setting a charm on the door behind them so they would know if anyone was trying to come in after them. Finally he went over to Liz.

"There seems to be enough illegal dark arts ingredients in here to stock Knocturn Alley for a year."

"There is.Very unpleasant things.And look at this," she said in a whisper, holding up a book that looked like some sort of ledger. "Roll call.People ranked according to their suspected loyalties and susceptibilities.Here, 'Southworth, Corvainious' primary school teacher, transfiguration expert.Able to resist the imperious curse."

Sirius stared at the book."Corvainious is a primary school teacher?"

Liz closed the book and put it in her pack."You knew him?"

"He was the captain of the Hufflepuff quiddich team my first three years at Hogwarts.Barely seemed to be able to string two words together in a sentence he was so shy.But he was a great player."

"People who have difficulty talking to adults sometimes are exceptional with children.I suspect he's a great teacher.And if he can resist the imperious curse he is certainly a powerful wizard in his own right."

Sirius nodded and looked back up at Remus, who had worked his way down to the end of the tables.Sirius went over to him.

"Look, Liz took that book listing people and families.Should we grab anything else before we get out of here?Like very, very soon?"

Remus smiled."I'd love to find a ledger that says who's behind all this. But you're right we need to…."

Suddenly they froze as they heard a noise in the room above them.Someone was walking across the floor. Remus grabbed Sirius' arm and turned him back towards the entrance to the room.

"That's it.Let's get out.We're too small a group to tackle any Death Eaters.The purpose of all this was to destroy this place, so let's do just that."But he stopped as he reached the door, putting his ear to it.

"Damn; I think the stairwell opens up at the other end of this corridor and our company is coming down that way.We'll have to go out that other door and circle back."

They ran as quietly as they could to the other side of the room.Sirius opened the door silently and led them into the next room.This was another large open room, with a circle of chairs set up around an enchanted fire in the middle of the floor.Liz looked wary when she saw this set up.

"Move very slowly, you two.That fire is dark magic, and kept burning for a reason, and we have no idea where it leads to.If we move too quickly it might open up a channel and tell someone we're here.We used to keep one at our house."

Sirius gave her a surprised look.Liz just smiled sadly."My grandfather was a Death Eater.Didn't Dumbledore tell you? How do you think I became so adept at dark arts? I'm sorry, I thought Dumbledore would have said…." Now she looked upset."I'm not trying to keep secrets from you, Sirius."

Sirius shook his head and stopped her. "Doesn't matter, Liz.I'm grateful you know a thing or two."

Remus, being Remus, looked fairly nonplussed over this information, and continued to walk slowly around the circle, keeping against the wall as he did so.But once Sirius was back at his side he whispered in his ear. "Well, maybe you won't get into so much trouble for keeping secrets after all."

"Shut up, Moony."

Sirius reached to hold the door handle, looking at Remus as he did so.Remus wore a curious expression now, but after a moment, nodded.Sirius opened the door, stepped into the hall, and almost immediately felt everything go black.

***

Sirius came to lying on the floor.He saw Liz next to him and could feel that Remus was behind him.His mouth was very dry and his head ached.He was also shaking from the cold, or at least he felt that cold._Where?_

He reached out and shook Liz by the shoulder.She sat up very quickly and tried to pull away, but Sirius held her.She stopped moving as she suddenly focused on him, giving a shaky smile.Sirius rose to sit on his knees and glanced over her shoulder.About a foot away from her he could see the edge of the spell circle that held them.He smiled at her.

"Good thing you didn't pull back just then.You may have hit the edge."

She glanced over her shoulder and instinctively moved even closer to him away from the edge.Liz rested her head in her hand for a moment before looking back up at him.

"Remus?"

Sirius jerked his head in Remus' direction. "These sorts of things take a worse toll on him, as you know.Let's have a look about before we wake him up."

They stood, after Sirius gave Remus a quick check to make certain he was in fact alright, just badly stunned.They were in a room where all the furniture seemed to have been shoved to one end.Sirius could just make out a huge old four-poster bed and some chests.Even the rug had been rolled up and lay heavily on the top of the bed covers. The room was in the same state of filthy disrepair as the room they had come out of the tunnel into.A fire blazed, but that was it.

No light came at all from the shuttered windows here, and Sirius assumed it was now shortly after dusk.That also meant they had very little time before Dumbledore confronted Lucius.The plan had been to make the Death Eaters wait all day, then finally Dumbledore, a few hours after dark, would let them 'find' him.Quite alone, and quite within the means of the law.The companion with him they would assume was Sirius, was in fact a very eager to assist Mr. Treal, who had the same dark colouring as Sirius and was almost exactly the same build._Time is running out, if it hasn't already._

Sirius turned to Liz. "Do you hear anything?"

"No.Seems the house is still empty.Or almost empty, as they case may be."

"There's at least one death eater here…."He stopped as he saw Remus open his eyes and look up with a dazed expression.Sirius offered him a hand up.Remus stood up and rubbed the back of his neck, looking about.

"Well, sod it.We were so close…."

Sirius couldn't stop himself from laughing at this."Moony! This just makes it a more exciting tale to tell!"

"Ah."

Sirius was about to continue when they heard footsteps in the hallway.Wordlessly they all stepped forward to the edge of the holding circle they had been placed in.A Death Eater walked in and stopped about three feet away from them.The figure stood there, its hood pulled over most of its face, obscuring any clear view of the person's features.They could see, however, that this person was smiling.

Finally, the figure moved.The Death Eater chuckled a bit, taking one slow lazy step forward and shaking its head slightly.

"Still getting in over your head and wrecking havoc, aren't you both?"

Sirius started when he heard the voice; it was very familiar.He looked at Remus, who was frowning, but had a similarly confused expression on his face._Obviously he's thinking the same thing._

"It's been quite the celebratory mood around here for a few days, you know.And to think, you almost ruined our happiness.But then, Sirius, you were always so good at mucking about with other people's lives, weren't you?"

Sirius felt a new wave of cold as suddenly he could place the voice.Same drawl, same exaggerated vowels, same nasty undertone….

"Pembroke?"

_Impossible…._

The Death Eater stepped forward, the small smile they could see under his hood twisting into a dark grin.He reached up finally and pushed back his hood.Sirius heard Liz gasp next to him; he knew why.This man was unmistakably related to Sirius.Same black hair, same black eyes.And if people had ever thought that Sirius had a habit of looking dark and dangerous, it was nothing compared to the expression worn by this man._I should have known; this one was always so screwed up.But such the 'proper' gentleman; the perfect Black.Well, well, father…what would you say to this?_

_ _

He stepped up closely to them, laughing a little and shaking his head.

"Well, Sirius," he drawled in his smooth and bitter tone, "I can honestly say I am happy to see you.We've wondered where you got to, you know.I wasn't surprised to hear you had made it off Azkaban, though I would dearly love to know how you managed it.I doubt anyone who really knew you was.Were you, Remus? Did it surprise you?"

Remus said nothing, watching Pembroke closely.

Pembroke broke his gaze on Sirius to glance at Remus. "Oh come now, Remus. Still the sullen thing aren't you?Gods, Sirius, only you would have dared to bring a werewolf to your father's dinner table.Imagine if he'd known."

Sirius willed himself to neither move nor speak.This was an old game with Pembroke, one Pembroke had won many times when they were children._Not now._ Remus, of course, did not move himself.

Pembroke made a small noise in his throat and shifted his gaze to Liz, stepping closer to her.Sirius saw his eyes flick quickly at him, and the smallest shadow of a sneer on his mouth_; he's going to go after her, because he learned a long time ago that Remus isn't susceptible to him._Sirius willed Liz to remain silent; _don't give him an inch…._

"And who are you?Not one of my cousin's old crowd, I think.Of course, there's hardly any of them left is there?I'm not that surprised to find him with good old Remus, but I am surprised by you.My name is Pembroke Black, but I think you might have figured that out for yourself.I suspect that it was you who ruined Malfoy's handiwork back there, yes?Yes.Excellent, really.I watched him build the thing.Very complicated.Not that Sirius and Remus are fools, of course, they are actually very talented.Maybe a bit _foolish_…."

Sirius was amazed and relieved that Liz did not so much as twitch during Pembroke's 'chat'. He was also happy to note that this also surprised Pembroke. But Sirius wasn't going to let him get a chance to wear her down if he could help it.

"Shut up, Pembroke.What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm not prone to crowing about myself, Sirius.You were the one who craved attention, not me.I'm here because I'm here.Soon others will be here as well.What a day for them; here they must thinking just now that they aren't going to get their hands on Sirius Black, but events have taken a turn.Malfoy in particular is going to be happy to see you."Pembroke turned to leave, but stopped and looked back just before he walked back out into the hallway.

"By the way, Sirius; I'd say your goodbyes to Remus there.Malfoy made it clear that he ever got his hands on Remus again he'd just kill him outright.Sadly, I think he has focused all of his anger and frustration over Dumbledore on him.He still can't believe that the old man let Remus in the school with the children.Or, rather, with the Slytherins.I think he'd not have kicked much fuss if Remus ate a few Gryffindors.Too bad.I always rather liked you, Remus.You were certainly more interesting than Potter." He vanished.

Liz turned to Sirius and looked like she was about to say something, but Sirius held up his hand.

"Liz, the first thing you need to know about Pembroke is that he is a master manipulator. He's saying what he thinks will upset me, and Remus."

Liz looked at Remus, who smiled and nodded at her.Sirius had to smile himself when she looked back at him with a very surprised look on her face.

"Come on, Liz; harassing Remus is hardly anything new, is it?And Pembroke has been harassing me all my life.You know he came to see me in Azkaban? Twice.I felt like asking the dementors to come back."

Now Remus' expression darkened and he glared at the door."Wanted to see what he'd escaped?He was never even on the lists, Sirius!We never suspected…but we of all people should have."

Sirius shook his head, and then moved to look about the holding circle."Not really.We just thought Pembroke was a gigantic ass…"

"He was a gigantic ass…." Grumbled Remus, joining Sirius in his inspection.

"True.But we assumed he was a simple and cowardly ass, too.Getting involved with Death Eaters?Too much for him.I would be interested to know when all this happened with him though.He works for the ministry, damn it.You know he's filtering information, poisoning Fudge's ear against Dumbledore and….and I'm willing to bet he's the one who's been working so hard to get Arthur and Dexter sacked.Of course, this is the wretched Pembroke; that's the sort of thing he'd do for sport, Death Eaters or no."

"Amazing that it was him we found here.That's what confused me when we were about to open the door.His scent was both familiar and too much like you, so I just thought I was having trouble focusing. Ah well.It's really just a minor side effect of the wolf.I'm hardly going to track people through bogs or anything…."

He stopped as he heard Liz clear her throat.

"Yes, Miss Harker?" asked Sirius.

"I'm trying to think that you two standing there discussing this calmly is just how you process stress."

Both Sirius and Remus chuckled.

"Actually, Liz," said Remus, "it is.I think if you had the chance to review some of the conversations we've had in some of the more stressful situations we'd been in you would think us either fools or made of ice."

"It's hardly an original tactic.Though I'm not as good at it myself."

Sirius grabbed her hand and gave it a quick kiss as he walked around her, looking at the spell circle."Don't worry, we're going to get out of this.Just ignore my and Moony's prattle if you need to." He winked at her.

She still frowned and reached out to wipe at something on Sirius' temple.He winched.

"You're bleeding…."

"Liz, none of us are looking particularly tasty right now, but nothing major is broken or the like.Come on, girl.Just concentrate on getting out of here.I know you're a tough one."

Liz did actually smile, and gave him a light slap on the cheek.

"Indeed.I just don't seem to enjoy getting into these situations as much as you."

"Oh I _love _'situations'…."

Remus suddenly turned to them and waved Sirius over. He pointed at the floor.

"Oh, Sirius; we're set - we can get out.Look at the spell he used to hold us."

Sirius stared at the markings._Simple and effective, something I've used a number of times myself to keep Death Eaters until the authorities arrived to take them away.Very useful indeed… for humans._ He looked at Remus, who was gazing back at him with a quiet expression.The hint of a smile showed up as he looked back out into the gloom of the room, staring into the darkness of the hallway.

"Padfoot…" he whispered, shaking his head.

"I know," Sirius whispered back, not daring to look in Liz' direction. "I guess now I'll know if she's going to be mad about this." _This is what I get for being an idiot and putting this off._

Remus gave him a sympathetic look."We don't have time to tell her the whole story…."

"I know that too."

"If it's any consolation, remember that my hand was forced with Katie, too.And I had spent a lot of time working out just how to tell her."He looked in Liz's direction for a second."Sorry I can't give you a little more space to do this."

Sirius gave him a small nudge in the ribs and smiled."And everyone always thought I had such smooth timing with the ladies."

"Would you rather I did this?"

"That _would_ make her mad, I think. She's already a little disconcerted that I've been…confused."

"Anxious. Look, we'll analyse it later," said Remus, stepping back now and looking again in Liz's direction.She still stood with her back to them. "Just be very quiet about it; we have no idea if anyone is listening. I'll think of what to do when you do get out."

Sirius stepped away from him and crossed over to Liz. "Liz, I need to talk to you.Put your arms around me."

She gave a small start."What?"

Sirius moved forward and pulled her close."This way I can speak as quietly as possible.Understand?Just nod."

She nodded hesitantly.

"Well, it's not the worst way to communicate, is it?"

He felt her smile and finally put her arms around his shoulders.

"Listen, Liz, I'm about to tell you a few things.Things we'll need to discuss in detail at a more appropriate time.Please, bear with me.I don't think you're going to be very happy with me; but please remember that I truly do love you.And I am not trying to do things deliberately to upset you." He stopped.She didn't move for a few moments; then she nodded again, and gave his shoulders a little squeeze.

"Pembroke said he'd love to know how I got off Azkaban.Obviously I'm not going to tell him, but I am going to tell you.This is something…I should have told you a while ago.I just couldn't bring myself to do it.We'll discuss it more when we get back home. Please, you might be angry with me.Just hold it until we can talk about it properly."

She nodded. "Sirius, what exactly did you do?" she whispered so low he almost couldn't hear her.

Sirius sighed._This was not the setting I envisioned doing this in.And for the life of me I still can't understand why it's been so difficult to do this._"I'm an animagus.An illegal one, obviously.I survived all those years, and I made it off the island, in my animagus form.I became one when I was 15; I did it for Remus.The spell holding us only holds humans, so I can transform and cross outside the spell.You'll understand all this later, I promise.I never said because…" he stopped._There is no way to say this without hurting her._

"Liz," he continued in an even quieter voice, "it was my one secret; the one chance I had if something happened.I couldn't talk about it, I didn't want to…. " She stopped him with a finger against his lips.

"You're right.We'll talk later. Get us out of here."

He pulled back and looked at her.She stood with her back to the fire and he could barely make out her face in the shadows, but her expression looked blank._I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing._His anxiety must have shown, however, because she finally gave a little smile and reached up to run one finger down his cheek.

"Sirius; it's okay.So you broke the law when you were 15.I'm neither surprised nor upset. We'll talk about it when we get home"

Sirius smiled and turned to walk back over to where Remus stood, still facing the hallway. Remus raised an eyebrow and Sirius gave him a small smile and shrugged.Remus started to say something, but Sirius just shook his head and gestured towards the doorway.

"Any ideas? So I get out and what?"

"Well I've got some floo powder in my pocket but I'm assuming it's too much to hope that fire's on the network.Obviously we need our wands in order to get Liz and me out of here.I know at least they haven't been broken.Yet."

"A simple Accio would work, but we don't know if they are sitting where someone would notice."

"We've no idea how many people are really here. Maybe we'll just need to risk it.I don't think you wandering the house, in any shape, is an acceptable option."

"Look, we've no time for any of this.We've got to get out, destroy this place, and get away before anyone else knows we're here.So far its just Pembroke…." He stopped as he heard a low growl that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up."What the hell was that?"

Remus glanced at the doorway."I'm not sure.It's been out there a while, but I can't tell what it is.Smells like a dog, but it seems off somehow."

"Were you planning on telling me this?"

"Yes, Padfoot, before you went out.Now you know why roaming the halls isn't an option.I suspect that right now Pembroke is the only one in the house, and that's why he's put that animal out there in the hall.It hasn't come in here, though, and I can think of two good reasons why. One; it's sensitive to light.That gives us some idea of what it might be.So it also suggests that we can keep it at bay until we get our wands and stun it with a simple flame spell.I know you can do those without a wand."

"Best trick you ever taught me. What's the second reason?"

"It can smell a werewolf and doesn't want to come in."

"Oh, I don't know Moony, you don't smell so bad to me."

Remus did laugh quietly. "Look, it is actually valuable that I scare some animals.A pity I'll never go riding with Katie, but other than that it's not much of a problem."

"Uh huh.Look, any other options?"

"Always.But those two seem the strongest to be going forward on.Although…" he suddenly stopped._I don't like that look._

"Sirius," he continued in a tight voice, "What if it's Pembroke?Maybe you're not the only illegal animagus in the Black family.Best way to keep an eye on us, really.He can hear us, and if we do get out, we're unarmed against some sort of canine."

Sirius almost laughed but Remus' expression suggested that that would not be taken well._Okay, it's a reach but he's got a point._

"So what?Maybe that's better.He has no idea what I can do.I'm more than a match for him in my current mood, I can tell you," he said in a dangerous tone.

"So if he's got our wands on him, we can't get them back unless he transforms.And we can't force him to transform without the wands.Checkmate.Bloody hell."

Sirius raised his eyebrows.Remus only swore when he was really, _really_, upset and/or put out._No.This is no good. We have to try._

"Remus, I think you're well into _over _thinking now, as your lovely wife says." He turned and walked back to Liz, taking her by the hand and leading her over to stand next to Remus."As soon as I step outside the circle, I'm going to summon the wands.Several things may happen.Hopefully, the wands will come up here.Liz, could you hear our conversation?"

"Some of it."

"Did you get the bit about something being in the hallway?"

"Yes."

"Look, I'm going to step out on the side opposite the door.If it does come in here, you two can at least try to blind it and hold it off a bit with some flame spells of your own.You can't cast them outside this circle, but there's no reason you can't give it a fright.That should buy some time for the wands to get here.I'll get them, transform back, and get them to you two.Obviously, it can cross right into the circle if it wants, so keep an eye on it.I'm actually hoping that it's scared of Remus."

Remus nodded and looked at Liz."Liz, stay behind me away from it if you can.Even if it isn't frightened of me, it won't like the way I taste, so let it bite me."

"Remus!"

"Liz, really, that's the fact of it.Biting me will distract it.I am also a lot stronger than either of you, and can hold it off longer. You concentrate on getting the wands, and getting the circle down so we can finish it off properly." He smiled at her and Sirius."Every now and again, the Wolf has its odd little uses, wouldn't you say?"

Sirius looked at Liz, who just shook her head.

"It's okay, Liz.Ready?", asked Remus.

Liz nodded and looked back at Sirius.Sirius leaned over and kissed her quietly."Ready to meet Padfoot?"

"I knew there was something to that nickname. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Sirius willed the transformation; he felt the familiar pulling and twisting as he reshaped almost instantly into his animagus.He looked back up at Liz and Remus.Remus was smiling at him, Liz looked …_stunned.Good or bad?_

_ _

Liz looked back at Remus.

"Your patronus…."

"Yes.Told you it wasn't a wolf.Ready now, Sirius?"Sirius nodded, and Liz let out a small bark of laughter before she clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Sorry.That just looks so…."

"Odd," finished Remus, stepping to the very edge of the circle."You'll get used to it.Trust me.That's still Sirius, so watch him."

Sirius gave Remus a small nip on the ankle before moving to the other side of the circle.

"See?"

***


	10. Veritas 15

# Veritas 15

I wasn't trying to be cruel leaving the last chapter where I did, but I was overcome with a guilt pang this morning since I do know what happens next.So here's a little more….

***

In later years when Sirius recounted what happened after he stepped from the spell circle to his son and Malcolm, Sirius was amazed at how long it took to tell the story, because it all seemed to happen in an instant.Griffin did accuse him, although with a smile, of exaggerating maybe just a bit, but Sirius vowed that some things need no exaggeration, even from him.

"Honestly, Griffin.Ask Remus if you don't believe me.You know he won't embellish anything."

Griffin laughed at him.

"Dad, really, I'm just teasing."

Malcolm just smiled the quiet smile he'd inherited from his father and grandfather."This sounds about the same to the version I got."

"See?"

"Maybe the dog sounds a little bigger…."

"Malcolm, I am the one the blasted thing bit, so I should have a good idea of exactly how big it was."

"Sure you weren't preoccupied?"

"How can you be so annoyingly like your father after all the effort I put in?"

***

Sirius went to stand at the side of the spell circle opposite to Liz and Remus.He took one last glance over his shoulder at them, to make sure they were ready.They stood with their backs to him, eyes focused on the door, a few steps back from the edge of the circle so they would have room to cast a spell that wouldn't singe them when it came to the edge of the circle and faded.

_Here goes nothing.Jump out, transform, call my wand, break the circle.All there is to it._

Sirius sprang forward.He felt slightly ill as he jumped over the spell boundary, but it let him through.As soon as he stood outside, he transformed and turned to the doorway.

"Accio wand!"

The instant he spoke, something huge ran inside the room. It was a dog of some sort, bigger even that Padfoot._Good god._Its eyes glowed yellow, showing that it had been charmed in some fashion.It ran forward, stopping only momentarily as the fireballs Remus and Liz conjured distracted him.But only for a second.In an instant it turned after Sirius with a snarl.Sirius moved to keep the spell circle between himself and the dog, trying to also watch for his wand. He saw Remus step forward closer to the dog, which did glance at him and barked, but made no move towards him. 

Suddenly he saw his wand, and caught it._Thank you._He turned to face the spell circle, but the dog was moving again with frightening speed, barking so loud Sirius felt his ears ringing._All this noise will bring Pembroke up here very quickly…_He wasn't near the spell marker; it was across the way, and Liz was between them.

"Liz!Step out of the way!"

She moved so quickly the dog took its attention of Sirius for a second, and he shot a spell at the marker.It flared up; Remus and Liz turned to avoid being blinded, but the dog got singed.That made it even more furious.It leapt into the circle, ramming into Remus who fell back, his shoulder hitting the edge of the spell.Because it wasn't down yet, Remus was badly burned.Sirius however, had to handle the dog.It had moved too quickly for him to stun it, and he only managed to get one arm up as the dog attacked, sinking teeth into his left arm that felt like they would bite it right off.Sirius fell down hard, but managed to reach his other arm 'round and punch the dog soundly on the muzzle to force it to let go before it did manage to tear his arm off.The dog let go instantly, but still had Sirius pinned.

He didn't hear Liz call out the spell, but he did see the dog suddenly go rigid, then its eyes went dark and it fell down, unmistakably dead. Sirius felt dizzy as the residual effects of whatever Liz had done to the dog touched him as well.

Sirius shook his head and pushed the animal off him and jumped up, ignoring the blood pouring down his arm and the pain from the bite._That dog's been cursed…._ He instead reached out to Remus, who now had his own wand but was shaking and sweating from the effects of having run into the spell.Remus slapped his hand away, though, and moved towards the door.

"Move!Pembroke will be up here…."

Sirius turned to follow him, but Liz grabbed his arm and said a quick spell to bind it with a simple bandage."You bleeding out will not help anything."

Sirius was starting to feel a little groggy on top of everything."Liz, I think the dog's bite was cursed.I'm feeling very tired…." He heard the slur in his own voice.

Remus looked back at this, panting and pale, gasping a little for air as he fought the effects of the spell.

"Liz! Don't let him pass out or we'll never make it out of here." 

Liz grabbed Sirius' good arm and brought him to stand next to Remus."Remus, both of you took the worst of this.You stand right here, and I'll see where Pembroke's got to."

Remus started to say something, but Liz gave him a look that instantly shut him up.Instead he muttered something and passed his wand in front of Sirius' face.Sirius instantly felt a rush of adrenaline, although everything still felt thick.

Liz stepped into the corridor and charmed three very bright balls of flame, sending them down the corridor so she could see.The corridor, done in the same red as the hall downstairs, was empty.They all heard the footsteps running in the distance, however.Quickly she turned and grabbed them.Sirius heard Remus gasp at the pain and shock as well, but they moved back into the room as she slammed the door.

"Sirius, you're the transfiguration expert. Think of something right now to get us down out of here.We're on the second floor at least.I've got the door."She waved her wand and in an instant the door vanished and only wall was in front of them.Sirius didn't wait to be told again, but ran to the window.It was charmed shut.

"Remus!Remus, get the window open while I find something to get us out of here."

Remus went to work on the window, teeth clenched, shaking and white as a sheet.Sirius knew he couldn't look much better as he ran to the pile of odd furniture, grabbing and pushing at the stacks with his good arm.

"Sirius!"

He stopped only for a second as he heard Pembroke's voice in the hall.

"You're not going anywhere, and the others will be here any second."

_Don't listen to him._He glanced at Liz, who stood facing the wall where the door had once been, wand raised and a very dark look on her face._I don't have time to think about that.She can handle herself._

"I'd stand back if I were you, unless this is how you plan to die.I'm bringing this wall down…."

Sirius grabbed the rug and pulled it off the pile to the window.Remus was still running through opening charms, and paid him no mind, completely focused on his own task.Sirius quickly forced himself to calm down._Breathe.You can't do successful transfigurations if you're distracted.The spell won't work, the spell won't hold.Just be calm, calm…._ He was starting to feel like he was about to fall asleep again, though.The curse from the dog must have been very powerful indeed, to work so quickly through one of Remus' charms.He didn't dare to close his eyes to calm himself.He focused instead on listening not to Pembroke, who they could hear now saying an incantation, but on listening to Liz who had come up next to him, still not taking her eyes off the wall.

"Come on, Sirius. Come on…."

Sirius took a deep breath and finally tapped the rug.It twitched for a second, and then began to fall and shift, turning into a long rope.Remus glanced down and gave a ghost of a smile.Then suddenly he managed to get the shutters to fly off the window.Remus then put magic completely aside and just kicked out the windowpanes, sending glass flying into the darkness outside.

"Move!"

Liz grabbed the rope and tied it, with blinding speed, into a very secure knot around the centre strut and tossed the rest of the rope down the side of the house.She looked down. 

"I can't tell if this is long enough, but it'll have to do."

Sirius stepped back towards the wall, which had now begun to shimmer.

"Sirius!Get out of here!" he could hear Remus say._Even when he's broken and bloodied, he can still use that tone of voice…._

Sirius shook his head."I've got to get Pembroke when he comes through here.He's the only one who knows we were here."

Liz now came over and grabbed his arm.

"You have no way of knowing that!He could easily have contacted any number of people.We'll deal with it later."

"And we have no way of knowing he did just that!If we leave him here, they know it was us for sure.Step back…."

The wall suddenly shimmered and vanished, where it had once been a door.The instant it fell, Sirius jumped forward, assuming Pembroke didn't have the good sense to step away.Almost immediately, he slammed into the other man and sent them both down heavily on the hall carpet.Ignoring the pain, Sirius slammed his fist across Pembroke's face.Dazed, Pembroke stared at him for a second, tried to reach up to grab Sirius, but Sirius moved faster, leaping back and off of him, as he heard Remus screaming at him to get off.As soon as he sat back, Pembroke was bound by Remus.

"What was that? You should have just bound him!" Remus yelled at him, grabbing at Pembroke's struggling feet and pulling him over to the window.

"Fastest way to stop him, and I couldn't see him to get a good shot."

Remus gave him a dark look, but didn't say anything.He did turn quickly and stun Pembroke to stop his struggling.

"How do we get him down from here?"

"We could just throw him out the window…."

"Sirius!"

Liz waved a hand for them to shut up.They stood there in silence…and suddenly heard voices downstairs.

Sirius, with one last look at Remus, did grab Pembroke, and with one look out the window into the darkness to make sure nobody was there, tossed him out.Remus stared at him, then looked back out the window, when he heard Pembroke hit the snowdrift under them with a thump.

"That was horrifying, even for that sad bastard," whispered Remus, as he grabbed the rope and swung himself out the window, starting down.Sirius said nothing and grabbed Liz, pulling her towards the window.

"Wait!" she whispered, and quickly recharmed the wall so that it looked like the door was back. Then she climbed out the window to follow Remus.Sirius kept looking into the darkness and listening for voices behind him.He saw nothing, and heard nothing, but as he was feeling more and more tired, and the buzzing in his head had started again, he couldn't be sure…Finally he saw Remus looking back at him quickly from the ground, and reaching to drag Pembroke out of the snow bank.Sirius swung himself out the window and climbed down after them.

He somehow managed to keep hold of the rope most of the way down.When he finally did feel it slip from his hands he only fell a short distance and the snow cushioned the fall.Immediately he felt hands grabbing the front of his jumper and pulling at him.

"Sirius…." Liz sounded like she was a long way off, and he couldn't focus on her."Sirius, please…."

He started, and forced himself back into focus, hearing something he had never heard in her voice.He managed to look into her face, and was stunned to see that she was crying._Not Liz; she never gets upset…._

"Sirius, move.We've got to get outside the wards.Now."

Sirius nodded absently at her.She gave him one last look then turned and knelt down next to Remus.Remus had fallen to his knees and was violently sick from the effects of the spell. Sirius could see him shaking, and took as hesitant step forward.But Remus sat back at that moment, and grabbed a handful of snow to run over his face.He accepted Liz's hand in getting up, then turned and grabbed the vines that held Pembroke still.

"Come on," he said in a hoarse voice."There's no time now."

Liz grabbed Sirius by his uninjured arm with one hand, pulling him with her, and reached to help Remus with the other.As fast as they could manage, they moved across the snow away from the house into the total darkness of the woods.They had no idea how deep the wards were.Sirius focused on just moving one foot in front of the other, step by increasingly agonizing step.Finally, he saw Remus stop.

"Are we at the wards?" Liz whispered

"Yes," Remus replied, his voice still hoarse and broken. "I'll go first…."

"No!" said Sirius, amazed he could still speak."Push Pembroke through, and see what happens."

Remus looked at him, though Sirius could barely see his face in the darkness. "That won't make any difference, if the wards are set to recognize him."

Sirius snarled, and gave Pembroke a kick."Do it anyway, just to see."

Remus glanced at Liz, and then pushed Pembroke through the wards.Nothing happened.

"I'm next," said Sirius, and before they could stop him, he walked after Pembroke.Nothing happened.In spite of everything, he turned to smile at them.Remus and Liz lost no time in crossing after him, but Remus still managed to give him a peeved look.Sirius rolled his eyes, and Remus finally smiled a little.

They cast one look back in the direction of the house, and still saw no movement, nor any indication that anyone had seen them.

Sirius swayed a bit and sighed."Marauder's luck still seems to have its old charm."

Remus smiled again."Well, Sirius, I'd have to say we're not out of the woods yet."

Sirius laughed."You can't be hurt that badly if you're up to saying things like that.How are we going to get Pembroke back with us?"

Remus looked down."I suggest one of us goes to get Dexter and we let him take care of him for a while.I think he'll enjoy that.I'll go.We'll be right back."

Remus took his wand back out and apparated.Sirius finally sat down in the snow, grabbing Liz's hand and pulling her down with him.He wrapped his arms around her tightly and sat there waiting for Remus to get back.Sirius suddenly realized that she was still crying.

"Liz? We're okay."

She just nodded, but said nothing.

"Liz?"

"Shut up, Padfoot." She said in a muffled voice against his chest.

Remus and Dexter showed up a few seconds later.Dexter seemed delighted.

"I've got him.You three get out of here right now and see to those wounds.I'll be over later to tell you what happened when Malfoy realized he'd been had."

Remus looked at Dexter as he and Liz helped Sirius to his feet."Dexter, we need to make sure that Draco…."

"Dumbledore is already looking into that. Go."

They stepped apart and apparated back to the Lupin's home.Katie and Dexter's wife Anastasia came outside immediately to help them.

"Seems you have quite a tale to tell," said Katie, trying to keep her tone light. "Dexter has your Death Eater?"

Remus nodded, wrapping his good arm around her and crying out a little when she brushed the burn on his shoulder.

"Inside now.Let's get all this cleaned up.Remus, love, what is that?"

"Holding circle wasn't quite down."

"And Sirius?"

"I've been bit by a bloody great dog.You should have seen the thing; big as your car…."

"Was it really?" said Katie absently, helping Remus to sit down on a chair, leaning him forward so she could have a look at his injury."Remus, I'm going to take off your shirt so I can get at that."

"Fine…."

Liz looked at her."Katie, the dog was charmed.Sirius keeps almost nodding off."

Katie immediately stood up and came over to him.She unwrapped the bandage to have a look at the bite.Sirius had to turn away, fighting nausea as he finally got a good look at what the dog had done to his arm.Katie stood up and ran out of the room without another word. _That can't be good…._

Liz just sat there, watching him, pale and looking miserable.He could still see tear tracks on her face, but she seemed to be working very hard at regaining her usual composure.He tried to smile at her, but he was starting to go numb.Suddenly she stood up and turned away from him to go and tend to Remus. Sirius did manage to feel a sharp pang as she refused to look at him again.

Katie came back in a few minutes with a large goblet, which she helped Sirius drink.He almost gagged at the taste.

"God, Katie, what is this?"

"Just finish it now.First of many, I'm afraid."

He heard Remus give a small laugh. "Nothing wrong with a little disgusting tasting potion, Sirius.Be good."

Sirius glanced at him and noticed that Liz still had her back to him, quietly cleaning Remus' shoulder.He grimaced a bit seeing Remus' scars, but quickly looked away, knowing that Remus would be self-conscious enough, especially with Anastasia here.

But he wasn't fast enough it seemed."Well, Sirius; at least _you_ get an interesting scar out of all of this."

Sirius tried to laugh, but he just sort of hiccoughed. "How dare you insult your wife's abilities you cad."Katie did smile a bit at him as she started to re-bind his wound.

"Curse scars don't heal clean, you know that."

Sirius said nothing this time, as he was starting to feel drowsy again.He gave a start, trying to fight it, but Katie put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay now.You need to sleep, so you don't need to fight it anymore.You may sleep a little longer than usual, but you'll be fine. Besides, you need the rest."

"Alright Katie-girl,' he said slowly, hearing the slur come back into his voice. "Whatever you say.Only don't let me sleep too long.I think we need to celebrate all this.Not what we'd planned, but…."

He heard Katie laugh at that as his eyes drifted shut.

"Okay, we can throw you a big birthday party next week and celebrate then."

Sirius chuckled.And then he did open his eyes as he finally heard Liz speak again.She had come back over and was sitting on the back of the sofa, looking down at him with an unreadable expression.

"You're an Aquarius?", she said very softly.

"Liz, please don't disappoint me by saying you believe all that rubbish," he said slowly, desperately fighting to keep his eyes open to watch her.

"You being an Aquarius certainly puts a lot of the theories in doubt. What's your rising sign?"

She reached down now to push his hair off his face, and Sirius tried to smile at her. "Scorpio."

He heard Katie laugh as she finished bandaging his arm."Well, maybe the rubbish does have some truth."

Sirius finally gave up his fight to keep his eyes open."I thought you said you weren't any good at mindless chit chat to calm your nerves," he drawled, his own voice now sounding like it too was coming from miles away.

He didn't hear her reply as he fell asleep.


	11. Veritas 16

****

Veritas 15

You people – you make me feel to guilty not to get these up. But this is as far as I got over Thanksgiving, and I'm booked solid until the weekend. I know, I know – I always say that. Trust me on this one…I've made it too complicated now to just pound through it. So, as Cervantes wrote – Patience! And shuffle the cards!

This is the set up for the climax – we are getting near an end to this. A few more cards need to be tipped first…

***

Sirius felt himself being shaken awake. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt so heavy…. He finally opened one bleary eye and could just make out Katie standing next to the bed.

"Sirius? Wake up **now**. You need to drink your potion. Come on, don't make me do something unpleasant."

Sirius sat up with a groan. His whole body tingled and it felt like he had silt in his veins. 

"Katie," he croaked out, "what's wrong with me?"

Katie smiled as she handed him another dose of the foul potion she'd given him last night and helped him drink it.

"You've been given a very powerful sleeping curse. Its very old and very nasty. Banned actually. But every now and again it shows up. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to treat you like you have a concussion for a few days and wake you up periodically, just to make sure the antidote is taking hold."

Sirius sighed and lay back against his pillows, rubbing his eyes.

"Why am I so lucky that you recognised this?"

Katie smiled, pouring him a glass of apple juice. "Drink. You're also going to be rather dehydrated."

"That I noticed. Thank you, this is much better."

"I've been looking more into the dark arts and counteracting some of the nastier spells for about two years now…"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm. Coincidence that it's coming up on two years that you and Remus…." He trailed off with a grin, downing the second glass of juice.

"Not a bit and you know it. Good thing I am looking out for you _both_, isn't it?"

Sirius just winked at her, and she gave a shy grin. 

"Life is never dull with a marauder about, Mrs. Lupin. And with two of us, well, what can I say? So, give me the story on what's wrong with me."

"Who says there's any more to it than what I said?"

Sirius laughed and patted her on the cheek with his good arm. "Because, Mrs. Lupin, you like your husband, are a history buff. There is never anything without a story and a lesson in it. I'm a captive audience at the moment, and I really would be interested to know. So?"

Katie sat down on the bed next to him, tucking her legs up under her and leaning on one hand.

"Alright, here it is. You know the muggle version of Merlin's life and death?"

"Vaguely. Never understood why they thought he was a contemporary of Arthur."

"In their version of those events, he ends up getting sealed in a tomb after being enchanted by a dark sorceress. But she didn't kill him, she put him in an enchanted sleep."

Sirius laughed. "Rather unsporting of her. But why not just kill him? Or is this one of those odd women things you understand but I will never hope to comprehend."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, one of those little mysteries you and Liz roll your eyes at when Remus and I are stumped. 'Oh Sirius, of course she sealed him in the tomb! How can you not understand why'?"

Katie tried to give him a disgusted look but ended up giggling instead. "We do _not_, by any stretch of the imagination, sound like that. Very unflattering. Who knows why the woman did what she did; people go nutters everyday, don't they? But here's the fact it's based on. A contemporary of Merlin's was poisoned by a dark witch with an extremely powerful sleeping draft, and she sealed him up inside a wall. The man literally vanished until someone found him 130 years later."

Sirius let out a low whistle. "That must have been a bit of a shock for him."

"Well, not for long. He may have been asleep, but he was still a functioning human being. And aging. The spell kept him from actually dying, though it probably couldn't have lasted much longer. He died a few days later of old age, his life gone."

"Ugh. Do you always have such pleasant stories for your patients? Why do I suspect Remus sees a much different bedside manner from you?"

"You want to spar with me, or do you want me to finish explaining what Pembroke did?"

"I'll hear more about Pembroke, thank you."

"Nobody ever proved who did it, unfortunately, but they did figure out, from the brief conversation they had with the man before he died, how it was accomplished. Whoever cast the spell did it by cursing Merlin's dog, which bit the man, making him fall asleep. As you know, it's dark and tricky business cursing one object using another, especially something alive. Needless to say, people were intrigued at the concept. This little spell you've managed to be cursed by was perfected in the 15th century, a variation on the original. It was used by wizards to enchant their guard dogs. It was also banned later for obvious reasons."

Sirius sighed. "Cursed by a bite. Why does that sound familiar?"

Katie gave him a very dark look.

"Katie-girl, I'm kidding. You know I don't, for a moment, take what happened to Remus lightly at _all_."

"I know you joke about it with Remus, but don't joke about it with me. Understood?"

"Yes. Sorry. So, when will I get over this?"

Katie stood up and went to open the curtains on the window. "Here's the fact; we know how to counter the spell, but it takes a long time to break it."

Sirius frowned at her. "How long?"

"About three months."

****

"What?"

Katie walked back over and took his hand. "No big deal, Sirius. You just have to drink the antidote everyday, and you'll never feel a thing. There are worse things, you know."

"And if I don't drink that disgusting concoction? Can this kill me?"

Katie looked at him very evenly. "Yes, Sirius, it will kill you. And it won't be a pleasant death. It attacks your nervous system and causes you to shut down slowly. You will sleep, mostly, but you will wake up from time to time, aware of what is happening to you. But once it gets a foothold, it is almost impossible to stop."

Sirius thought about this, then gave a huff. "I guess now I know why this was banned," he grumbled.

Katie laughed quietly and gave his hand a squeeze. "I think we got you back here fast enough. The books say that even patients who did not start to receive treatment for almost a full day after they were bit made a full recovery. So I think we're alright on that. A skipped dose now and again won't be fatal, but it will make you drowsy. So let's you and me just make a deal to make sure between now and the end of May you drink your antidote dutifully everyday, and we won't have any fights."

"Deal, Katie-girl."

Katie picked up the empty glass and goblet in one hand and the pitcher of apple juice in the other. "You should get up now, and you shouldn't sleep again for the rest of the day. I want to see how you feel. Let me know if you start to feel particularly drowsy or numb, okay?"

"Okay. Um, Katie? Where's Liz?"

Katie gave a small smile. "She went for a walk. She's pretty shaken up by what happened, but I think she's more frustrated that you and Remus might think she's not up to it."

"You must be joking. She was great! Not a flinch. She did….she got very upset at the end of it all, but only after we got outside. I think she was mostly angry with me. She, um, finally met Padfoot."

Katie nodded. "So I heard."

"Did that surprise her? Did she say anything? Is she mad that I kept this from her."

"I don't think so. I did tell her the story of why and how it all happened at breakfast. She seemed more touched than anything, just like I was when Remus told me. As for you keeping it a secret? She understands what you're going through, perhaps more than you realise. But she's a pretty stoic individual. I think that makes her a good anchor for you. But you need to be careful to remember that she doesn't think like you do, and she doesn't react to things like you do. You're projecting a lot of yourself onto her, I can tell."

"How's that?"

Katie smiled and shook her head. "Sirius, the one thing you hate, more than anything, is people lying to you or holding things back from you. You've been reluctant to share this with her for a good reason, but all you feel is that you're betraying her. She does not feel at all betrayed, in any way. Keep that in mind."

Sirius nodded. 

"Good. Now get up and take a shower. You'll feel much better. Come down for something to eat when you're ready."

Cleaning up did clear his head a little, and he went downstairs to get some late breakfast. Sirius came down the front stairs and started for the kitchen, but then he heard the unmistakable sounds of Malcolm babbling at something in the front room so he went in there instead.

Remus was sitting on the couch, still wearing his pyjamas and a robe, feet propped up on the table. He looked awful at first glance. Unshaven, hair uncombed, pale, dark shadows under his eyes; but he was smiling happily sitting there with Malcolm on his lap, propped up against his chest. Malcolm was all smiles and was staring avidly at a book Remus held in one hand.

Sirius grinned at Remus when he looked up and caught his eye. "Moony, you look like hell."

"Thank you," said Remus in an even and amused tone. "I could honestly care less. How are you feeling?"

"Groggy, but relieved to have woken up. Did your wife explain to you what that dog did? Nasty." Sirius walked over and dropped down on the couch next to Remus, putting his feet on the table as well and grinning at Malcolm as he turned to look at him. Malcolm looked a little nonplussed at his arrival and quickly turned his attention back to whatever book Remus was holding.

"Well, that's a fine good morning, Malcolm. What are we reading then? 'Basic Book of Spells Level One'? 'History of Arithmancy'? 'Bottersnikes and Gumbles'?"

"Certainly not. We are far to engrossed in 'An Animal Alphabet.'" Remus held up the child's book for Sirius to see. Sirius chuckled and threw his good arm over the back of the couch and settled back.

"Oh, very nice. Please continue. Where are we?"

"L for lemur." Remus held the book up for Malcolm to look at. He smiled, but ignored the book to grab at Remus' hand instead.

"I don't know, Malcolm, that looks like a monkey to me."

"Sirius, that is a ring-tailed lemur."

"This comes with a teacher's edition?"

Remus gave him a kick on the ankle and went back to the book, giving Malcolm his other hand to grab so he could turn the page.

"M for…"

"Moony?"

"Mongoose. Look at the picture Sirius, that will make it easier if you can't make out the letters."

Remus went back to the book as Malcolm delivered it a swift punch so he'd get on with it.

"Impatient, isn't he?"

"Well, he didn't have to put up with these distractions until you wandered in."

Sirius gave Malcolm a small pat on the cheek. "Malcolm, learning to share is very important."

"Shush. N is for Narwhal." Remus raised an expectant eyebrow at Sirius. Sirius just stared back and said nothing.

"O is for Ocelot."

"Are we sure this isn't 'An _Obscure _Animal Alphabet?"

"P is for…."

"Padfoot!"

Sirius stood up and turned to face Remus and Malcolm. Then, with a smile at Malcolm to get his attention, he transformed. Unfortunately in his animagus form he couldn't laugh at Malcolm's expression as he did this, but Remus did, putting the book down and reaching out to pat Sirius on the head.

"Very nice. P for Padfoot, Malcolm, what do you think?"

Malcolm eyed Padfoot suspiciously, but finally reached forward to touch his muzzle hesitantly. 

"Oh, Malcolm. It's not that bad, surely? Looks like a nice doggy to me."

Sirius turned quickly to see Liz standing in the doorway, obviously amused by this rather unusual domestic moment. _At least she's smiling and we're in the same room…._ Sirius padded over to her, wagging his tail. She stared at him, still with a faint smile, shaking her head. When he reached her, Sirius transformed back and stood close to her.

"How are you?", he asked quietly.

She did smile at him now. "Tired. But it certainly looks like I'm doing better than you two."

Sirius said nothing for a while, then finally winked at her. "So, am I in the dog house?"

Remus groaned. Liz rolled her eyes. "Not your best effort, Sirius."

He gave a sad smile. "Sorry. Forgive me. I'm a little distracted thinking that you might never speak to me again."

Liz shook her head. "Whatever for?"

Sirius looked quickly over his shoulder at Remus and Malcolm, then grabbed her hand and took her out into the front hall.

"For a little bit of everything I guess. I should have told you about Padfoot a long time ago. You have to understand, I just…."

"Sirius, I am not upset about that. Maybe startled, but it somehow seems appropriate for you. And that dog is rather lovely."

Sirius shook his head, starting to loose his voice a bit as he struggled with everything. "Liz, you were so upset yesterday…."

Liz gave a humourless laugh. "Sirius, what happened yesterday was very stressful. I wasn't upset with you. I'm not ….." she stopped.

Sirius looked at her quietly. "You are upset with me."

"Not how you think. Its not even you, really, but…."

Sirius leaned back against the front hall table and rubbed his face in his hands, not wanting to look at her anymore. He could feel how upset she really was, and how she was struggling to hide it. She gave no indication that she was going to complete her thought, instead she just stood there next to him, arms wrapped tightly around herself, shaking her head with a sad expression. He couldn't stand it; he moved quickly to open the front door, but she reached a hand to stop him.

"You don't understand."

Sirius fought very hard to keep control. He had finally ruined everything, and …._and what? What did you have to ruin in the first place? The notion that this wretched nightmare would really end?_

"Liz, it's okay. I understand. I've never been the easiest or most reliable person to know."

"Don't do this. Don't distance yourself from me with words. Neither of us are ninnies. The fact is that you reminded me just a little too much of Brian yesterday. I told you once that you'd have liked him. I guess now I see just how alike you really are. And I was mad at myself, because I couldn't fathom why I'd put myself through all that again. That being with you would be nothing but a lifetime of worry that one day you wouldn't come home either. And worse…and worse you didn't come home because you snuck off to do something I'd made you promise not to do. Some spirits simply cannot be contained. And not all of us can take that fact."

Sirius said nothing for a long while, but just stood there, absently wringing his shirttail in his hands. Finally, he took a deep breath and took a step closer to her, crossing his arms in front of him so he would stop fidgeting with his hands.

"Liz, I would never do something I had promised you I wouldn't. I don't always think things through; but when I stop to think, I no longer trust myself to do something just because I am firmly convinced it is right. The man I was probably would break such a promise, if he thought the promise wasn't as important as what he felt. But the truth is I am no longer that man. And I think I have learned the lessons I had to because of who I was. The price I paid was too great not to. So I will promise you, right now, and without question, that I will never keep another secret from you and that I will never go against your wishes. And if it is your wish that we… give up any hope that someday we can be together, for whatever reason you feel, then so be it."

Liz did not move as he said this. When he finished, she remained silent for a long time, just looking at him. He could tell by her expression that something was up, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Finally, she looked away.

"Sirius, I need to think about a few things."

Sirius felt his heart break at that, but he nodded and said nothing.

"I'll see you later." She moved past him and out the front door, closing it softly behind her.

***

Hedwig flew into Sirius' study that afternoon with a very brief note from Harry, Ron and Hermione asking if everyone was well. Sirius leaned his head in his hands and sighed. He'd completely forgotten to send a message, and so apparently had everyone else. Remus was asleep again in his study with Malcolm curled up with him. Sirius, who still felt sick and exhausted, was rather bitter that Remus could sleep when he was not allowed to. But Katie was very strict about keeping an eye on him, promising that if everything looked okay by Monday, she'd let him relax.

Sirius absently stroked Hedwig's head while he leaned back in his chair and nearer to the fire. He'd felt particularly cold since Liz had left. She had not shown up at lunchtime and Sirius noticed that Remus and Katie said nothing about it. _Gods, what a mess. _

He grabbed a quill and started to write to Harry.

Harry-

A lot has happened. Everyone is okay, only a few burns and bruises. I was bit by a dog as well. And Liz knows all about Padfoot now.

Sirius stopped. _I don't want to send Harry some stupid letter; I need to see him….I finally need to just put everything to rest. I'm so damn tired of this…_

He jumped as someone knocked on his door.

"Yes?"

Katie stuck her head around the door. "Sirius, Albus and Dexter just got here, and asked to speak with you and Remus immediately. Are you up to it?"

"Of course, Katie," he said in an irritable tone. _Sorry, Katie-girl, but I'm not up to being coddled by anyone, even you._

"Then you'd better get your sorry ass out of that chair and into the front room."

Sirius looked up quickly at her, instantly apologetic for his snapping at her. "Yes, I guess I'd better, Mrs. Lupin."

Katie stood there as he stood up and walked over to stand next to her. 

"Sirius, I will always give you the space you need to heal, but I will never let you curl up and die. Sorry, but I'm just not like that. Remus said that you and Liz had a rather tense conversation. I'm sorry for that, but that's what happens sometimes. Goodness knows Remus and I have a few tight discussions."

Sirius shook his head.

"It's not the same. Even when you two get a little worked up, there is no doubt whatsoever that you love each other, and that your going to…." He stopped for a moment. Then, shaking his head, he continued. "Katie, we've no time for this right now. It seems more than a little self-indulgent and does nothing to solve our current problems."

Katie gave Sirius a sad smile.

"So what?"

They walked into the front room. Remus was sitting by the fire, still looking exhausted, but at least his hair was combed and he'd put on a thick wool sweater and some trousers. Dexter Tanner was smiling from ear to ear, obviously still happy over getting his hands on Pembroke. Dumbledore seemed more subdued but still smiled at Sirius. 

"Well, Sirius, a very interesting evening for you. I understand your motivations for bringing Pembroke back with you, however we cannot hold him for long. We must decide …."

"I think we have a nice sound case of attempted murder against him."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"How could we bring such a case to trial? Stand in a court of law and say that Mrs. Godine and Remus were openly consorting with a convicted murderer, and broke into a house? I should think that the evidence might support Pembroke pressing charges against you, instead."

Dexter winked at Sirius.

"Did you really throw him out of the window like he claims you did?"

Sirius nodded grimly and sat down on the couch next to Dumbledore.

"Any word on Draco?", asked Remus. 

"Young Mr. Malfoy seems to be, at the moment, free from any suspicion in what happened. But I have asked Severus to particularly look out for him. Lucius may not suspect his son, but others might, and would, I fear, harm the boy."

Sirius was puzzled at this. "Why would suspicion fall on Draco to begin with?"

"Draco is already suspected of not having 'pure' thoughts. Although his father avidly believes that Draco did in fact have nothing to do with your escape from the house last year, some were suspicions. But nothing was said openly, of course, for fear of Lucius' retaliation. Now we have another failure linked to Draco. It would appear that Lucius bragged about his son getting the better of Mr. Potter."

Sirius frowned into the fire. "So where have you got Pembroke?"

Dexter chuckled. "Somewhere he'd just die if he knew. He's in one of the secret rooms at Hogwarts. The Death Eaters wouldn't dream we'd do something like that. Especially with school in session." 

Dumbldore's smile faded and he looked at Sirius and Remus steadily. "We need to determine what we are to do with Mr. Pembroke Black."

Sirius shrugged. "Memory charm should work."

"Perhaps. But his comrades are certainly powerful enough to break that."

Sirius got up to start pacing in front of the windows. "What I don't get in this is what Pembroke was doing there anyway. He was no Death Eater when … last time. I'm sure of it. Pembroke was a lot of things, but he never would have had the guts to stand up against my father and my uncle."

Dumbledore gave Remus a long look, and Remus shook his head. Sirius did not like this exchange at all.

"What am I not being told now?"

"Sirius…."

"Remus, what is it? Did you suspect Pembroke back then? You can't have! You just said to me yesterday…."

Remus held up a hand to stop him. "And I meant it. I never suspected Pembroke. But some things happened while you were Azkaban that made no sense at the time. Now, they do. We are hoping that we will be able to…prevent Pembroke from ever returning to the Death Eaters."

"Sirius," said Dumbledore in the sombre tone he used only when discussing very grave or important issues, "You know your parents passed while you were in prison."

Sirius nodded.

"Surely you must have realised, dear boy, that they did not pass from natural causes. Not so young." Dumbledore said this very quietly and with great compassion. He held Sirius' gaze evenly, but Sirius had to look away. _Yes, that occurred to me, but I couldn't bear to think about it. They didn't deserve it, despite everything we ever disagreed on._

Dumbledore continued his voice still slow and quiet, "Your father died about a year after you were imprisoned under suspicious circumstances. A number of people believed that he may have died from his own hand…."

Sirius heard an odd noise in his throat as Dumbledore said this. _My father? Were they insane? He'd be the last to give up so easily. No matter what I had done….._

"…because of the shame he felt over what had happened with you, his only child. Most believed that he had been killed by Death Eaters, as a last revenge for his activities against Voldemort and his position as an auror. But there was never any proof. The only individuals who had been anywhere near him at the time of his death seemed beyond reproach in the matter, so no questions were asked."

Sirius gave a snarl. "Oh of course not. Another fine example of justice in our community. Assume guilty, assume innocent. It's all so arbitrary, isn't it? How did he die?"

"He died from a very powerful sleeping draft. One made with dark magic."

Sirius started at Dumbledore. "What about my mother?", he asked very quietly after a few moments.

"She died a few months after your father. She wasted away, really. Everyone assumed that the loss of your father, on top of your conviction, was too much for her to bear. But looking back, I would suspect that what in fact was happening was that she was slowly being poisoned herself. Now, maybe she also did this of her own accord. But I remember your parents well, Sirius, still. I cannot imagine either of them doing such a thing. Your mother was the captain of the Gryffindor Quiddich team for a reason. She was one of the strongest people I ever knew. A quality you inherited from her. I knew the moment I saw you standing there your first day at Hogwarts, waiting to be sorted, that you were a Gryffindor like your mother, not a Ravenclaw. I have always been saddened to feel that they were in fact murdered, but nothing ever came of the suspicions. But now, I think, we have something more substantial than suspicions."

"Pembroke."

"Pembroke indeed. The spell used on you is not common at all. Very few wizards would know how to do it. So, using it is a bit of a signature."

Sirius was pacing now. He wasn't sure how he felt about all of this; he did not like his parents, and they never seemed to do much other than despair of him. But the idea that they had been killed, and in such a cowardly fashion, by Pembroke was making him see red. Remus suddenly stopped him.

"Sirius, there are a lot of odd coincidences here. We need to be very careful how we proceed. If we can in fact prove that Pembroke killed your parents, he will go directly to Azkaban. But that's a big if."

Sirius nodded.

"And we still have the issue of that house. I suspect that they will abandon it after discovering what happened, realising that they were set up. But I still want to know exactly what they were doing there, and Pembroke is the only chance for that."

"Just give him some truth serum, we'll know exactly what happened."

Dumbledore stood himself now. "There is one final issue to consider. Pembroke undoubtedly has an invaluable knowledge of Death Eater activities. He must be highly trusted to have been the only one left to guard the house in the woods."

Sirius felt himself gawking at Dumbledore. "You think you can make him turn?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No. But I think we might convince his comrades that he has. And this would make life much simpler for Draco. We suspect Pembroke of killing your parents. But we are the first to do so. The Death Eaters will not be suspicious. Perhaps, however, being unaware of this murderous animosity between your families, they might be led to believe that Mr. Black is in fact sympathetic with Mr. Black. After all, Pembroke was at the Christmas party, both before and after your capture. Pembroke is unaccounted for, and Malfoy's spell circle has been destroyed after Sirius double-crossed him. I think that Malfoy, receiving word that both Black cousins have been spotted in each other's company will be rather bad for Pembroke."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other. Remus raised an eyebrow and Sirius grinned.

"So, Pembroke and I are in cahoots? I think this is about to get very interesting."


	12. Veritas 17

#### Veritas 17

Hello!Did we all have a good week?I've been mucho busy – but thankfully I had to sit through a long and useless class this morning, and managed to get this finalized.Technically I think I was supposed to learn something, but what bits I did listen to sounded more like arguments over what we are already supposed to know, and not actually telling us anything new.So….I miss London dreadfully, and had to bring it into all of this.Westminster is one of my favourite spots in the universe, so I had to make it centre stage here.Anyone who knows this area will recognize it in this, I hope.I'm not going to say how I know about the hidden utility shed, but it's there, trust me.

Four more chapters to this, and I promise not to be skimpy.Sirius and Liz go to London to do a little more Malfoy baiting (goodness, he's having a bad week isn't he?), and to set Pembroke up for a fall. Sirius starts to be a little more reflective about his parents, and he and Liz talk about a few things that have nothing whatsoever to do with Death Eaters.

**Disclaimer**:I just noticed that I haven't been putting these on.Where are my manners?But we all know they aren't mine, except for Liz, Katie, Malcolm & Griffin, right? And a few others thrown in here and there; you know who they are.Did you all see the wonderful Ms. Rowling in Vanity Fair?Nice summary as to why she's definitely one of the best….

***

_A young woman with straight dark blonde hair boarded the evening train to London, accompanied by a decidedly large black dog.They had a compartment to themselves, because people took one look at the size of the animal stretched out across all three forward facing seats and continued down the corridor.They didn't even see the young woman smile and shake her head at the dog, who lazily wagged his tail whenever she did this, as they hurried away._

_ _

_When the passengers detrained in London, they seemed not to notice that the woman appeared to be trying very, very hard not to giggle as she knelt down and attached a lead to the dog's collar before they exited the platform.One man who did glance at them as he passed caught himself doing a double take, staring back at the pair because he thought it seemed like, well, the dog was glaring at her, but in a. …joking… fashion; like it was teasing her.That bothered him all night and he ended up going to bed early, complaining of feeling ill._

_ _

_Oblivious to the anxiety felt by the over-imaginative man, the young woman loaded her dog into a cab and directed the driver across town to a small square near St. James.After paying the driver, they turned and entered one of the unobtrusive black doors along the street without a sound._

_ _

***

Sirius was exhausted, so he forced himself to stand in front of the fire, and fought to keep his eyes open.It had been a stressful 24 hours.He swayed slightly, feeling a little dizzy, as he worked with Remus, Dexter and Dumbledore to try and decide exactly how they were going to make Lucius Malfoy believe that Pembroke Black was the one who had repeatedly double-crossed him. 

Sirius shook his head a bit and reached up a hand to knead at his shoulder.As he twisted to get a better grip, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror over the mantelpiece.He jumped slightly, startled at his own pale, somewhat gaunt appearance.He'd been doing much better, really, in the early fall.But the last few weeks had been difficult, and Sirius knew he'd been letting everything get to him, he just hadn't realized how much._I look so old…._

He suddenly had the odd feeling he wasn't looking at himself, but at his father.Same lines, same tight and humourless set to the mouth, same dark, flat eyes._A face that never smiles.He never did; well, hardly ever.Same with mum. Why? I couldn't have been that much of a disappointment to them…._

"Sirius? Please, we need you to pay attention."

"Sorry, Headmaster.I was just…remembering a few things.One thing about all of this puzzles me. We have no idea, really, how long Pembroke has been a Death Eater.I honestly don't think that he was involved with them last time Voldemort was trying to gain control, but I only assumed that he didn't have it in him."

Dexter nodded."I think that this is a new development, actually."

"Why?", asked Remus. 

"His Dark Mark.It looks somewhat new.The older Death Eaters' marks have faded somewhat with age, and seem more a permanent part of the skin.Pembroke's is fresher."

"If this is the case," said Dumbledore thoughtfully, "it is interesting that Pembroke was at the house alone.Guarding such a valuable site would seem something to be trusted to one of the old crowd.Unless he had given them cause to believe he was beyond reproach. Unless he had given them something."

Sirius shook his head."What of any value could Pembroke give them? He's a wizard of moderate talent at best. I was showing him up when I was 8, and he was 16. He seems to have perfected this obscure sleeping curse, but that's it.And if he were actively stealing secrets from the Ministry, Dexter would have known.He's managed to keep a very low profile."

Dumbledore nodded."Perhaps, Sirius, he had something more substantial than rumours that could easily have been gathered by any number of the other sympathizers in the Ministry."

Sirius shook his head, but Remus sat up straight in his chair and turned to Dumbledore.

"A house for a house.And what a house…."

"Remus?"

"Sirius, all of your father's properties went to Pembroke, of course, as the 'head' of the Black family.That includes not just the house you grew up in.It also includes the one…."

Sirius felt all the blood drain from his face."Near Hogsmead. Oh, God…."

Dumbledore signalled for him to sit and be silent.Sirius sank down on the couch next to Remus.Dexter looked very surprised.

"Your father owned a house near Hogwarts?"

Sirius shook his head."No, the other direction, on the other side of the forest, near the river.My father always owned houses by running water; it was his particular affectation.I never went there, because I assumed that was the first place they'd look for me.It was empty most of the time when I was young."He saw Remus try to suppress a smile out of the corner of his eye, and had to laugh quietly. "We, um, broke in there a few times when we were at Hogwarts."He looked apologetically at Dumbledore, but he just smiled softy.

Remus shook his head now and did smile."Only a few times, though.Then Mr. Black figured out what we'd done and absolutely covered the place with hexes and charms.We decided to go there and 'celebrate' a few nights before the end of our sixth year, and had a very, very close call getting back to Hogwarts and undoing all the spells set on us before we were caught. Mr. Black never actually said anything, but when we got off the train in London, Mr. Black gave us a look that basically said we were fooling no one."

Sirius suddenly felt very sad hearing Remus talk about that incident.It had been one of the rare times that Mr. Black had just let something slide.It was obvious he knew what the boys had done, but he also seemed to draw a truce on the matter, and let it be._He wasn't an ogre…he just never seemed to be able to smile.At anything.Sirius sat gazing into space, trying to slow his racing thoughts.He had thought very little about his mother and father since he had escaped, and especially since he learned they were dead. Now he couldn't stop thinking about them.__We parted on such bad terms…they told me then; told me I was too impulsive, and too smart for my own good.Father knew…he was trying to warn me in his own way….Sirius suddenly stood up and started pacing. _

Remus looked at him sadly, but didn't say anything.Instead, he pointedly turned to Dumbledore.

"Albus, that house is no secret. Even if it is hidden with wards, we know it's there"

"True.But when was the last time you gave it any thought?I have never even seen Pembroke in Hogsmead since his graduation.The best place to hide something, sometimes, is out in the open, as you know.And, with the proper preparations, it would be an ideal safe house."__

Sirius sighed."Right next door to Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter."

Dumbledore nodded."Yes.And, if this is the case, it becomes more important now that we in fact destroy Pembroke's reputation and standing with the Death Eaters.But we come again to the issue of how this is to be achieved."

Sirius drummed his fingers on one of the bookshelves, absently reading the titles of Remus' extensive and eclectic library._Pembroke, you sick bastard.If I do prove that you murdered them…._ Suddenly he stopped and grinned._Oh, this is risky, but it will be worth it._

_ _

"Lucius needs to be convinced that Pembroke is consorting with me, right? Well, how about we give Lucius an eyeful?What if he thinks he sees his missing Death Eater, then realizes it's not, and finally thinks to put the two of us together?"

Dexter frowned and glanced at Remus and Dumbledore before turning to Sirius."I'm not following you on this.Lucius is to strong to be fooled by any shadow images or the like."

Sirius started pacing again, still grinning.

"No, no; nothing like that.You're right, he wouldn't be.But, if he saw _me_, at first glance, he'll probably think it's Pembroke, because we do look alike.Especially, say, from across the street."

Sirius' mind was racing now, and he felt a rush of energy like he hadn't felt in a long time.The satisfaction of having just thought of a solution seemed to wake him up.He also felt the familiar rush of adrenaline that came whenever he planned to do something particularly tricky and dangerous._Remus is not going to like this one bit._

Sirius looked over at Remus, and could tell by his expression that Remus had already come to that conclusion.It was the same expression he always had had in situations like this; but Sirius knew that the expression could be turned with a good argument. Remus didn't actually say anything, but he did cross his arms and give Sirius a look that told him he'd better get on with his explanation.Sirius grinned at him and winked.

Dexter spoke up."You're going to _talk_ to Malfoy?"

"Well I never really had the chance to thank Lucius for his wonderful hospitality last December."

Dumbledore raised a hand."Sirius, exactly what do you have in mind?"

That finally got a comment from Remus."Sir, you aren't going to let him…."

"Remus, let Sirius say what he is considering first.I will not," Dumbledore said, fixing his gaze on Sirius, "allow anyone to take any undue risks, as usual.Sirius, finish your thought."

"Dexter, Malfoy is still very involved with several Ministry councils, yes?When is the next time one of those meets?"

"Um, tomorrow, actually; first thing in the morning."

"Do you know if he's planning on attending?"

Dexter grimaced."Malfoy _never_ misses a meeting of the Legal Affairs Council.Wants to keep an eye on the 'mudbloods' so they don't make the government 'lax'."

Sirius rolled his eyes at that, but continued, his voice sounding more excited than before."Good.To get home, he's got to walk outside of and away from the Ministry, because you can't apparate in there or anywhere near there.So, I think he should get a good look at me then."

Remus actually sputtered."In the middle of London?"

"No," said Sirius calmly, "on Westminster Bridge.He has to cross it to pass the wards on the Ministry and get to Diagon Alley.I think I'll be walking, calmly, down the other side, plain as day.We can force him to see me with a compelling charm. Hang on a minute."

Sirius went out of the living room and down to the kitchen, where he found Liz working.

"Liz? Can you join us?"

"Absolutely."

They walked back out to the front room, but before he opened the door, Sirius turned back to speak to Liz.She was almost eye level with him, and for a moment he forgot what he was going to say as he looked at her._What are you thinking about? You seem even more unfathomable that before.So calm, so self-assured…._

He cleared his throat then spoke softly to her.

"Liz, I think I've got a good plan for dealing with Pembroke.One that will further disrupt the Death Eaters.I'll give you the details on how we got here once this conversation is over.But you need to be involved, and you need to be part of the decision process to go through with this.I'm going to suggest something reasonably dangerous.I'll promise you right now that Remus is **not **going to like it.Dexter may find it rash, and I gave up trying to fathom how Dumbledore thinks when I was 14.I'm not sure what you'll think of it," his voice became even quieter, and he broke her even gaze to look instead at the pattern on the rug. "But," he continued, "I think, considering everything at stake, it's going to be worth it."

He glanced back up at her as was relieved to see she was smiling at him.

"Okay then.Thanks for the warning."

Sirius smiled back at her and they went into the front room. "I asked Liz to join us, as this is going to concern her."

Liz nodded at the others and sat down next to Remus on the couch. Sirius took a deep breath, and then started to speak.

"Here it is.Malfoy has a few mysteries on his hands right now.He's been lied to and was caught in a set-up.One of his safe houses has been exposed, and although we missed the opportunity to destroy it and its contents, it's a safe bet that the place is being dismantled as we speak.So they need a new safe house, and they need it fast.We suspect that they have such a place, thanks to Pembroke, too close to Hogwarts for anyone's comfort.If they haven't been there before, they will most likely go there now."He looked at Liz, knowing that this was all new to her, and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if she had any immediate questions.Liz shook her head at him, and Sirius continued.

"The other situation he's got to deal with is that Pembroke is missing.We're assuming Pembroke has some value to them, since he was alone in that safe house, indicating that he's highly trusted. But the trust in Pembroke is about to be challenged. We need to get Lucius to suspect Pembroke for two reasons.One, we want Pembroke to be so scared of retaliation from the Death Eaters that cooperating with us is preferable to whatever they might do.If Death Eaters still treat 'traitors' like they used to, I think Pembroke will give in. Two, we can shift any suspicions people have regarding Draco onto Pembroke, protecting Draco.We owe the boy, and we need to show him he's made the right choices.If he's one of us, he needs to be treated as such."

"So here's my suggestion.Malfoy will be at the Ministry in London tomorrow morning.After his meeting, when he comes outside, we make sure he crosses Westminster Bridge, instead of staying on the south side of the River, in order to get outside of the Ministry's protective wards and go home.Dexter, we'll discuss how to assure that later.When Lucius is on the bridge, a compelling spell can be cast to get him to see me.I can do that without a wand, so it won't be detected by the Ministry."

Dumbledore looked vaguely surprised at this, and Sirius gave a guilty grin."I perfected that in an attempt to try and use it against Flitch. I was actually trying to do it backwards, so Flitch _wouldn't _see me, but never quite managed it. And I did get caught, so I learned my lesson."Dumbledore just shook his head.

Sirius continued, ignoring Remus' increasingly tense expression."I'll conveniently be on the side of the bridge opposite to him. Now, at first he's most likely to think he's seeing Pembroke.But he won't for long.The instant he realizes it's me, I'm off.I'll get down the tube entrance that's right there, practically hidden behind all those muggle tourist booths.Once down, I'll apparate out of there quietly so no one will miss me."

Remus finally snapped.

"Bloody hell, Sirius! What possible use can we have for you taking such a risk? Waiting for Malfoy outside the Ministry?Are you barking? You think he'll be the only wizard on the bridge?"

"I'm not going to hang about, Remus.This is all going to be timed and Liz is going to be the one to keep an eye out and make sure I'm not taking any unnecessary risks.Imagine what Malfoy will feel, seeing that I have the total audacity to do this.Besides, I'll be far from the spot until the last minute."

Remus was not convinced, and stood up to stand in front of Sirius, hands on his hips and still scowling. "How will you time it?Liz can't signal you, the magic will be detected …."He stopped seeing Sirius give a wicked grin.

"Now Moony, who said anything about magic?I think a little muggle item will be very useful here.Liz?Still have that 'cell phone'?"

Liz laughed."Oh, now I get it.I'll give you a call.All muggle, no magic.But that doesn't answer Remus' question about why this risk is necessary.Surely there are other ways to get Lucius' attention."

Sirius shook his head."I need him to put me and Pembroke together in the same thought. And Malfoy is so angry with me right now, he's not thinking straight. Dexter said Malfoy practically had a seizure he was so furious about what happened yesterday.So I'm the best bet for forcing Malfoy to do something rash. Shortly after he sees me, he's going to hear from Snape that Draco saw Harry talking to both Pembroke and me near the forbidden forest that morning. Suddenly, more of Malfoy's carefully laid plans are at risk.I've been hiding somewhere, you know.Perhaps Pembroke has been helping me, and the League, all along. That also puts Pembroke in Remus' company, and he's certainly tied with me as one of Malfoy's least favourite people."

Remus was still scowling, but he said nothing and looked over his shoulder at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, however, was smiling faintly. "This is a considerable risk, but I will agree that it will be worth it, provided we take precautions.And I think Sirius' plan for minimizing his exposure, while highly dangerous, is appropriate.Mrs. Godine will certainly be able to keep an eye out, and provide excellent assistance if anything happens."Dumbledore chuckled."Too bad Arthur can't be part of this.He'd love to have the chance to use a 'cell phone', I suspect."

Liz spoke up again at this comment. "About that; exactly where am I calling you?"

"Yes, well, you have a flat don't you? I can easily apparate from there to Westminster."

Liz nodded, but still looked puzzled."Sirius, you can't just 'pop up' in the crowds at Westminster."

"No, but there's a nice secluded little shed under the bridge Remus and I have used a few times."

"Shed? Oh, you must have found a utility house. That makes sense."

"Whatever it is, we've never seen anyone near it and it's tucked away from the sidewalk along the river.You'll just need to check it before you call me."

Dexter frowned."What if Lucius does something, well, very rash, like try and curse you on the spot?"

Dumbledore shook his head."As livid as Mr. Malfoy was last night when he discovered that I was in fact speaking with Mr. Treal, I cannot imagine he would be so careless as to openly break any number of laws in public. Even where Sirius Black is concerned.Not to mention loose his position in Voldemort's inner circle by doing something so foolish, and risking exposure."

Remus now shook his head, running his hands through his hair."I have enough trouble going grey, you know…."

"Katie says she loves your grey, so they greyer the better, right?"Sirius tried to joke, but Remus just shot him a dark look.

Dexter didn't seem very convinced either."Look, say we do this.Malfoy sees you, gets word Pembroke's been seen with you, then what?Where does that put us?"

"What's the first thing _you'd _do, Dex?"

"Get the hell up to Hogsmead," said Liz, dryly.

Sirius winked at her."Exactly.Where he _will _find me and Pembroke at my father's old house."

Remus started to say something, but Sirius put a hand on his shoulder to stop him."Moony, this is as far as I've got.Whatever happens next, we'll go from there."

Remus stared at him for a long moment.Then he sighed and said, "Fine, I'll get up to Hogsmead…."

"Remus, this is going to be fun.I promise."Sirius was giving him a dangerous grin.Remus finally smiled.

"The really sad part is, I agree."

***

While Remus, Dexter and Dumbledore discussed their plans for managing Pembroke and getting him out of Hogwarts and over to the old Black house, Sirius and Liz went to finalize their own strategy for the next day.

Liz sighed finally, when they were about finished."I guess it's a good thing I bothered to clean up my flat before I left after Christmas.Sorry to say it looked a bit of a mess. We can apparate there in the morning."

"Actually, would it be alright to take the train instead?

Liz looked at him with a puzzled expression."Certainly.But we'll have to go up to town tonight, because the morning train doesn't get in until noon."

"I know that.The fact is, I don't really get out much," he winked, and she smiled at him."Now that you've met Padfoot, we can take the train.I go as Padfoot, and I get a chance be outside a bit. We've nothing better to do until tomorrow anyway. Would you mind?"

Liz looked at him with her usual calm expression."No. I'm not much of a fan of apparating anyway.Always makes me feel ill.Well, this will be fun. And odd; but what's life if not to have new experiences, Mr. Black."

"Thank you, Miss Harker.I'll just go get Padfoot's lead from Remus."

She burst out laughing at that.He had to laugh himself, seeing her so amused. "Not a typical way for a couple to stroll around town, but it will have to do."

***

"So what would you like for dinner? Obviously we'll have to order something, as there's no food here."

"Surprise me.You know I'll eat practically anything."

Sirius looked around her flat while she went about getting them some dinner.It was small, but very comfortable.He was surprised to see that everything was very relaxed, and textures covered everything.Rugs hung on walls, throws were draped across the large overstuffed chairs, and pieces of very ornate and beautifully coloured cloth hung on doors.Every single wall was painted a different colour, from a muted pallet of rusts and deep reds._This is not what I expected.I thought everything would be, well, practical and simple.Katie's right.I do underestimate Liz._

He went to look at the pictures, all muggle, he noted, that hung on the main wall in the front room.There were a vast number of them, mostly of people Sirius assumed were Liz's friends and family.He smiled at one of her, sitting with another young woman, on top of some sort of rock.They seemed to be on a hill overlooking a desert. _Wow. She looks great in those shorts.Muggles definitely have it over on wizards when it comes to dressing.Robes don't have quite the same appeal._

His attention was drawn to another picture of her, where she was standing with a very tall, very strong looking young man._That must have been Brian._He checked the other pictures, and saw that many of them had the same young man in them.Sirius was struck that while Liz had commented that he and Brian were very similar in temperament, they certainly didn't look anything alike.Brian was blonde, tan, and looked like he could pick up a hippogriff if he was in the mood to.

"That's Brian."Sirius looked around to see Liz standing near him, looking past him at the pictures.

"I thought so.He looks like he was a happy and outgoing man."

"He was."

"He also looks like he could snap me in two."

Liz laughed and sat down."Not Brian.He was an intense and dedicated athlete, but the least violent person you could know.He never even crushed spiders; he caught them and set them free outside.And he was very put out whenever I just got a slipper and finished one off."

"Well, I'm a slipper man myself."

She smiled at him, but made no further comment.Sirius sat down across from her, propping his head in his hand.She looked closely at him.

"Sirius, don't fall asleep on me.You know you can't sleep until later.Are you feeling alright?"

Sirius nodded. "I'm drowsy, but I feel okay.So no extra doses of that foul potion.I know Katie gave you a few.I'm just thinking." He grinned."That does happen from time to time."

"Hmmmm."

"Liz, about Padfoot, about all that…."

She stopped him."Now is not the time to discuss it. But I will say this, Mr. Black.I am not angry with you, like you seem to think. I was upset because I finally realized, or admitted, I'm not sure, just how important to me you really are, and that it would be very painful to lose you."

She paused, and Sirius didn't move. _So it's not a total wash…._

"What I feel for you is nothing like what I felt for Brian, but it's just as strong, and that makes it frightening to me.Losing Brian was the single most horrific thing I have ever had to go through, and it still hurts.And he died in such a stupid…his death was a waste.It didn't have to happen.I was so busy being angry with him about it I forgot how much I loved him.You brought all that back."

Sirius finally asked what he'd wanted to know for a while."Liz, how did Brian die?"

She started to cry, but her face remained still and she even smiled a bit.

"Just as he probably would have wanted.He was killed in a climbing accident.He and a friend.We're still not sure exactly what happened, but one of them must have slipped, and both of them fell.They were doing something called 'free climbing', something I hated.That's climbing without ropes to catch you.I'd made him promise he wouldn't do it.I told you, though, that some spirits can't be held back.I shouldn't have asked that of him.Maybe, if he hadn't been going behind my back, I might have been there, and then I could have…."

Sirius stood up and went over to her."Liz, you know you can't think like that.It's useless."

"Oh I know, but sometimes you can't help but think like that.You know what I mean."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her in a tightly, tears in his own eyes now."Yes, I do," he whispered. _I need to stop thinking about useless things myself.I need to talk to Harry; to know he understands.That he forgives me._

Liz let him hold her a while, then she pushed him away gently."I think that's enough for one night.I'm not ready to go any further with this discussion.But," she smiled at him, watching his expression carefully, "I working on it.Understood? You think I'll give up on you.That makes me feel like you're giving up on me."

"Never, Miss Harker.Not now, not for anything."

She smiled."Good.Now, let's busy ourselves with something for the rest of the night so we don't brood. How about a game of cards?That should do nicely."

"What game?"

"I'll bet you play a good game of poker."

Sirius had to grin."Strip poker, yeah."

Liz just raised an eyebrow."I was thinking more along the lines of five card draw, Mr. Black."

"Miss Harker, I'm disappointed.You came back from Christmas with all these promising sounding tales of naughty party games."

"Let's save those for another night."

"It _is _my birthday in four days, you know." 

***

The next morning Liz woke Sirius up and gave him his antidote, then made coffee before she set out for the ministry.

"I know you hate it, but I think you could do with it. Remember, Sirius, don't pick up the phone when it rings.Listen to the machine and make certain that it's me.I don't need to try and explain what a strange man is doing here answering my phone to anyone just yet."

"Got it."

He spent the time waiting for her watching the light traffic on the sidewalk in front of her building, wondering just what these people did with their days.Eventually he tired of this, and found his thoughts drifting.

He thought back to the summer after he graduated Hogwarts, and he'd come to London himself to live.He loved this city; he loved the raw energy of the muggles and all the fascinating distractions of their world.Remus had hated living here, but it was no secret he was basically a country squire at heart.This all made him think, once more, of his parents._They were very disappointed I came here to live.One more thing to …Gods, why did we never get along? Why did I never really listen to anything you said to me?_

_ _

_ _

***

Mr. Black gave his only child a hard look.

"Sirius, your mother and I do not want you living in the City. There is no reason for you to do so."

"Excuse me, Sir, but there _is _a reason. I _want _to live in London."

Mr. Black folded his hands calmly on top of his desk and leaned towards his son.

"That is not a reason.That is a desire."

"One that counters _your _desire I stay here.Why is your desire more important than mine?I'm 18, father, an adult.And I am quite capable of making my own choices, based on my own desires."

"I am not questioning that you are old enough to make your own choices.I am asking that you consider my and your mother's wishes.You are a part of this house; this is your home.There is no need to leave."

Sirius scowled and stood up."I haven't been part of this house since I was 11.Why is this suddenly your concern?I'm finally going to be completely out from under your feet.I would have thought that you would be _delighted_ to get me out of here."He turned to leave, but his father jumped up and stepped over next to him, holding the door shut.

"**Why** do you say these things to me, Sirius? Why have you and I ended up speaking to each other in these tones?"

Sirius stared at the door and said nothing.

"Sirius, you have no idea how hard it was for us to see you leave for Hogwarts.To watch you leave us; to sit here and listen to … to nothing. Everything became so quiet and still, when before everything was always moving. You are our only child; and you, whether you believe it or not, are the centre of our concerns.We want great things for you…."

"And you think that unless I sit here and let you tell me what to do with my life that I'll just mess that up like I've messed up everything else! I'm not going to sit here and watch you both be so damn disappointed in me!What is this?Your last chance to 'save' me?To turn me into you?I'm not you, and I don't ever want to be you. Goodbye."

***

Sirius could actually hear his father's stunned and sad voice calling after him, even after nearly 20 years from that moment._I was so blind – one more relationship my arrogance and self-centeredness destroyed. I treated everything they did or said with suspicion.I never once thought about what they were really thinking, or feeling._

Suddenly the phone rang, bringing him back to the moment.He waited until he heard Liz telling him to pick up, then answered.

"Ready?"

"Ready.Dexter just walked out with Malfoy.I can see Malfoy standing across the way at the end of the bridge.The shed is clear. See you in a moment."

Sirius quickly apparated, and after checking to see if anyone was about, exited the deserted spot to get to the stairs next to the river rising up to the bridge.Keeping his head down so he didn't risk making eye contact with anyone who just might recognize him, he quickly went up the staircase to the street.He crossed over to the other side to stand at the base of the bridge, double-checking the path to the tube station entrance.It was, as he'd hoped, crowed with muggles moving in every direction._Easy to lose sight of me even if he makes it across the traffic.If he uses magic to get across the street, enforcement wizards will be out of the Ministry building very quickly._

Suddenly Liz walked up next to him.

"Malfoy's on his way, across the street.He looks furious, but then he's usually scowling, isn't he.Ready?"

"All set.Look, move away from me.I don't want him associating you with me. I'll see you back at the flat."Sirius waved a cab down for her and helped her in, keeping an eye on the opposite sidewalk.He flashed her a quick smile.

"You know what?I think I'm enjoying this a bit too much."

"I don't doubt it.See you at the flat."

The cab pulled back out and Sirius started to mutter a charm under his breath as he walked onto the bridge, scanning the crowd for Malfoy._Come on; see me, see me…._

_ _

All of a sudden he saw Lucius Malfoy, about halfway across the bridge.He pushed through the muggles, who looked right past him, and stepped to the edge of the sidewalk.The noise of the street, of the muggle tourists, of the cars, all seemed to fade into an odd stillness as the charm took effect.He continued to stare at Malfoy, who was almost parallel to him before he stopped, and looked up.

Sirius caught his eye, and smiled the most dark and sinister smile he could.He let all the rage and fury he felt over what had happened to him pour our, letting Malfoy know how dark dark could be.

Malfoy froze, staring at him.He looked puzzled for a moment, then questioning, then his eyes suddenly widened as he obviously realized just who he was looking at.Fury instantly clouded his face, and at that, Sirius turned and ran for the tube station.

Sirius pushed past the muggles, racing down the stairs as quickly as he could manage._Breaking my neck now would put a damper on all this._

He did check at the crossroads of the tunnels at the bottom of the stairs, careful not to take the passage that led to the other side of the street, in case Malfoy was coming down that way.Moving quickly in the opposite direction, with much less foot traffic, he took out his wand and held it closely to him as he approached a corner._Timing…timing…one, two, three._

As he stepped around the corner, he apparated.It happened so quickly nobody would notice as he vanished.


	13. Veritas 18

# Veritas 18

Okay, I'm going to get this warning up right now – these next two chapters are going to end in cliffhangers.I'm not trying to be cruel, but there it is.I do promise to get the chapters up quickly, though, so no needless suffering.Obviously the final chapter will have no cliffhanger.

I also feel the need to warn people that I don't like messing too much with the cannon of the ultimate plot of Rowling.I.E.: You won't see Voldemort in these, and I have no idea what she's up to with proving Sirius' innocence. Obviously I'm taking extreme liberties with other things, but I'm not going to touch those two items. I am assuming, in my little universe, as the visions of the future show you, that things work out for Sirius.And I am ignoring her suggestions that Harry doesn't survive.I read Joseph Campbell too, and I know that the hero's cycle is often tragic, though it vindicates the innocent.

The Raiders game is blaring in the background, as are the rather vicious and vociferous comments of our little peanut gallery (although I can't believe a bunch of almost MDs _really _want the entire Steelers' defensive line to die….).But they want to know what happens, too, so they made me get the laptop up.I'm being told to get this finished, damn it!So….

Sirius & Liz rejoin Remus in Hogsmead to wait to see what Malfoy does next.Pembroke and Sirius have a 'chat', and Sirius finds out what really happened to his parents.And then….

(Disclaimer:you know it by heart.None of JK Rowling's characters are mine, I'm just taking them for a spin.Pembroke's mine, but I'm not sure I want him.)

***

Sirius paced in the flat, anxiously waiting for Liz to get there.By now, Malfoy may have easily alerted the Ministry that Sirius Black had been walking plain as day across Westminster Bridge towards the Ministry itself.Or, he may have gone off to speak with his own Death Eater co-horts._I wish there was some way of tracking the bastard.Then we wouldn't have so many maybes to deal with._He suddenly thought of his mother, who had been by all accounts a gifted seer._She probably could have…._ But Sirius never believed in any of that, really, and certainly had no gift for any of that himself.Besides, Liz had lots of interesting things around the place, but he didn't see anything that they could try and skry with.

Suddenly Liz came in, out of breath from running up the stairs.She beamed at him, obviously relieved to see him there.

"Okay then.We need to go, and I think we better get out of London the same way we came. If Malfoy's alerted the Ministry, then they will pay very close attention to all activity, and that includes apparating.They may in fact be trying to trace you coming here as we speak, but that will take a little time."

She grabbed the bag with their things and turned back to the door, but Sirius stopped her.

"Hey, wait.Good job.Thank you."

She smiled shyly at him, and nodded. "Anytime, Mr. Black."

Sirius quietly took her face in his hands and kissed her.He had meant it to just be a quick and simple kiss, but she dropped the bag to put her arms around him and the kiss quickly escalated._We're going to make it, Miss Harker; we have to._

Finally they pulled apart and looked at each other.

"I guess I shouldn't worry so much about you giving up on me."

"No, you shouldn't.Now, let's leave."

Liz led Padfoot back down to where she had the cab that had brought her back to the flat waiting.She let Padfoot get in, then climbed in herself and told the driver to take them to Charring Cross.He eyed the dog, then pulled out without a word.Liz scratched Padfoot affectionately and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"One thing's for sure, with you about I'll never have to worry about getting mugged."

Padfoot gave a small bark & wagged his tail.

They reached the station and Liz led them quickly through the crowds to catch the northbound train.They suddenly noticed there were a large number of witches and wizards, carefully scanning the crowds.Liz tightened her hold on Padfoot's lead instinctively, and he leaned against her, trying to somehow reassure her that it was okay._Okay, so we know that Malfoy tipped them off.Just keep walking, Liz. Keep walking…._

"I say!Excuse me, Miss?Miss!"

Sirius instantly tensed up as a familiar looking wizard stopped Liz.Sirius couldn't place him, but he knew, at least, that this man was sympathetic to Dumbledore, because he could swear he'd seen him at a few meetings.But that was when he was there as…._oh, shit.He recognizes Padfoot._

Liz smiled at the man, and Sirius was heartened at least to see that she was projecting her usual calm, collected and easy-going manner.

"Yes?Can I help you?"

"Well, actually, I don't believe we've met.My name is Terusius Mifflin. Miss…?"

"Mrs., actually."

"Not Mrs. Lupin, by any chance? Mrs. Remus Lupin?"

"No, actually.Mrs. Godine.But I am good friends with Mr. and Mrs. Lupin."

The wizard smiled at this.

"That explains it then.I recognized your dog there, as Remus'.Such a beautiful animal.Are you minding him for them?"

Sirius looked up at Liz, who smiled down at him and gave him a quick wink.Sirius looked away, as he saw two wizards obviously from the Enforcement arm approaching them.He shuffled a bit to get Liz' attention and she followed his gaze.Just as quickly, though, she turned back to Mr. Mifflin.

"Yes. They've just taken a few days' holiday, and I've been looking after the dog while they were away."

The Enforcement wizards now stepped up to them.Liz heard the crowds fade as the wizards obviously cast some sort of silencing cone around them.

"Mifflin," said one of them in a tense voice. "How are you?And you are….?"

"Elizabeth Godine.Can we help you?"

The first wizard nodded tersely. "We've just had a report that Sirius Black is in London."

Mifflin looked shocked, and Liz tried very hard to look as stunned.

The second wizard gave a grimace."Not just anywhere, mind you.He was walking across Westminster Bridge, right towards the Ministry. But he was spotted, and fled.I don't even want to think what he might have been up to."

The first wizard nodded, then looked hard at Liz and Mifflin. "It has been suggested that Black is being aided by a suspected Death Eater, so we're assuming he's back with his old crowd now and they're protecting him. We've been given orders to watch all of the muggle transport stations, since we assume Black won't use magic, knowing he's been spotted.May we ask were you are going?"He said, looking calmly at Liz.

Padfoot couldn't help giving a low growl at this and both Enforcement wizards gave him a nervous glance.Liz gave a small laugh and jerked Padfoot's lead so he had to take a step closer to her.

"Don't mind him.He's been cranky all morning and these crowds make him nervous.I'm on my way down to Exeter, actually."Sirius hoped they didn't ask to check her ticket now that she'd lied to them.

"She's actually returning the dog to his owner, Mr. Lupin." Mr. Mifflin chipped in with an overly large smile on his rather dull looking face. "I know the animal well.Isn't it lovely?"

"Lupin?Oh, yes. _Lupin_. Well. We know all about him. You'd best give him a warning that Black seems to be back and moving about. And now that he seems to have a _family_ to protect he'd best be careful."The wizard shook his head and glanced at his partner who just shrugged. Sirius was livid now. _Bastards.Remus is a better man than the two of you put together will ever be._

"Goodbye then."The noise of the busy station suddenly returned."Do keep an eye out, and if you see anything suspicious, contact us immediately."They moved off and quickly vanished into the crowds.

"My goodness! Mrs. Godine, are you sure you'll be alright?Allow me to at least see you to your train."

Liz shook her head firmly."No, thank you.That won't be necessary, I'll be fine. I seriously doubt any of us shall run into Mr. Black here in the station.It was nice to meet you, and I'll give Remus your regards."

He smiled blankly again."Please do. And offer my congratulations.I haven't seen him a while and I know he and his wife had a baby.I hope all are well."

"Yes, they are.Thank you and goodbye."Without another word she stepped away from him and continued down the station towards their track.Padfoot strained the lead a little, but she held him back with a surprising strength."Stop it," she muttered. "Don't draw any more attention to yourself, your size already gets heads turning.Just keep going and hope that that man doesn't suddenly realize that the westbound trains are at the other end."

They saw other wizards as they walked, as calmly as possible, to the track with their train for the North, but nobody else approached them.Finally, they got into the train.Liz had paid for a private compartment, and she sat Padfoot down opposite her as she settled and took out a book.Padfoot barked once and looked at the still open door, but she just gave him a light kick and didn't look up.

"Not yet.If they search the train before it leaves, and we've got that locked, it will look suspicious.If we run into the same wizards because a fuss is kicked up, I'm going to have to act like an idiot and try to convince them I just got on the wrong train.So sit down and shut up."

Sirius climbed up onto the seats so he could watch out the window.She gave him a slightly annoyed look, but said nothing.There were wizards on the platform, but they were watching people coming in, not getting on the train.Finally, the conductor gave the signal and the train slowly started moving away.At that instant a head popped in to their compartment, giving them both a fright.

It was another Enforcement witch.She gave a quick smile and looked them both up and down."Sorry. Just checking. Have you…."

"If this is about Black, I've already spoken to some of your chaps in the station."

"Right then.Thank you."The witch disappeared and Sirius saw her jump off the train just before it cleared the platform.She walked back towards two other Enforcement wizards, shaking her head.Sirius turned to look at Liz, who had now gone pale and had her head in her hands.Finally she looked up at him, shaking her head, then stood to lock the door and pull the blinds. She turned to face him and leaded on the door, shaking slightly.

Sirius transformed back and sat there, staring at her.He felt a little pale himself, and finally gave a shaky smile, and held his hand out to her.Slowly she pushed away from the door and came to sit next to him, curling up against his shoulder.

"That was not fun, no matter what you say."

Sirius gave a small laugh."No, that wasn't. At least we know that Malfoy went back to the Ministry before he did anything else.Too bad we can't get word to Remus…."

Liz sat up and grabbed her bag."Don't be silly.I'm not the only one with a cell phone."

Sirius had to grin as Liz punched a number and waited."Katie?"

Sirius listened to the one-sided conversation, never taking his eyes off her and reaching out to slowly stroke her hair while she spoke.She smiled at him but didn't keep his gaze.

"We're fine, yes.We're on the train North….Yes, so it would seem.Enforcement witches and wizards were all over the station….Yes we did speak to them….you can say that again. Look, get word to Remus that….is he there? What happened….Oh….Well, Malfoy would, wouldn't he?….So we're not the only ones who had an exciting morning….Look, tell Remus we'll be there around 6:30….Fine, yes…yes….Don't be wicked, Katie….No, he's not sleeping, and he feels fine.Don't you?"Sirius nodded as she looked at him."Yes he's nodding. Okay, we'll see you soon.Give Malcolm a hug from Sirius," she winked at him, and he smiled.

Liz turned the phone off and sat back against his shoulder.

"Well, Malfoy went absolutely spare over your little prank.Seems he tried to implicate Dexter in aiding and abetting you.Which, of course, he is, but nobody paid him any mind because he was just so livid at the time and was screaming insults at the "moronic, incompetent, disgraceful' head of Enforcement. And then he demanded that they go immediately to the Lupins, also accusing Remus of helping you.Good thing Remus didn't go to Hogwarts yesterday and waited until later today.But, by coincidence it would seem, Albus Dumbledore was there too, and calmly pointed out that Malfoy has, on several other occasions, tried to use Remus' past association with Mr. Black to incriminate him, so this was nothing new.Malfoy shut the hell up because the only way he could press his accusations against Remus would incriminate him as well.The wizards apologized to them for causing such a fuss, warned them to be very careful now that Black seemed to be moving about again, and left."

Sirius sighed. "Well, at least Malfoy had a bad morning, too."

"One more thing. In light of this, they are not going to have Snape tell Malfoy you've been seen up here, because Malfoy will most likely take the note directly to the Ministry and the school will be descended upon by officials and…."

"Dementors.Good point.Not to mention we haven't warned Harry about this and they'll go right to him. Harry knows enough to tell them that he wasn't willingly speaking to me and that he's lucky he got away alive, blah blah blah, but still.Liz, I bring that boy nothing but grief."

Liz gave a grunt of distain and poked him in the ribs. "Don't say such stupid things.Harry loves you more than anyone and you know it.No wallowing."

Sirius smiled slightly and kissed her hair."Right. Sorry."

"What happened to all the fun you were having?" she said, teasingly.

"Vanished when that last witch nearly scared me to death.Liz, now you see why I was so reluctant to talk about Padfoot.He's rather useful.For the life of me, I still can't figure why Peter hasn't let on about it, but as you can see, it's still a secret, or they would have looked at me much differently, and probably would have forced me to transform."

Liz shook her head."Who knows.Anyway, Mr. Black.We've got a few hours to think about things.I'll go and get us lots of food, as I'm suddenly starving, and we'll talk. Do not, "she added, standing to leave, "fall asleep.Or you get an extra dose of potion."

"Yes, ma'm."

***

They got off the train at the nearest muggle town to Hogsmead and walked out of the station looking for Remus.He was standing quietly just outside the edge of the pool of light cast by one of the streetlights just beside the entrance.Remus smiled quietly, but Sirius could see that he had been fretting, and was visibly relieved when they walked over to them.Remus dropped down on one knee and patted Padfoot on the head.

"Hello. Very, very glad to see you. Both," he added, looking up at Liz.He stood back up and motioned them to walk with him down the street.It was very dark and cold, and Sirius was glad for Padfoot's thick pelt.There were no stars visible and a light fog had started to form.The streets were full of muggles moving about, but he could only catch glimpses of faces in the half-light that came from shop windows or from the headlights of the cars as they walked.Mostly he seemed surrounded by dark shadows and the heavy dull noise of the traffic.He started to feel a little ill, and the familiar buzzing in his head that came back whenever he started to get over stressed started again.Trying to calm himself, he kept his gaze on the ground, hanging his head so low his muzzle practically hit the pavement.He relied on Liz just walking him forward and directly him with the lead.Liz and Remus seemed to be discussing something in low tones, but he couldn't really hear them.

Remus did call to him softly, though and brought his attention back.

"Padfoot?You need to know that there are Enforcement wizards here in town, because Albus, not Malfoy, suggested that it might be a good idea to have them here, quietly and unobtrusively keeping an eye out.I am also here 'helping' them.Okay?This was done so someone didn't suddenly get the notion to bring all the dementors back.So far, that's been enough, and Fudge is staying out of all of it.Malfoy didn't hang around the Ministry.He left shortly after lunch, but Dexter has no idea where he went.I've been to the house, and right now it's deserted, so we're going to take you both there and then Liz and I are going to get Pembroke."

Sirius barked once so Remus knew he'd understood.

"Good.We're just going to get down this street up here to an alleyway and I've got a portkey there to take us to the house, so you don't have to change just yet, just in case.The Ministry can't track who uses a portkey anyway, so even if they do detect it, I'll know about it and I'll tell them it was me."

They continued to walk in a calm fashion down the wet sidewalk.Sirius would feel his paws starting to go numb, but he wasn't sure if it was because of the cold, daymares, or the sleeping curse._I'll have to take an extra dose of Katie's antidote to be on the safe side.I am feeling a little drowsy._

Remus finally led them down an alleyway and deep into the shadows.

"That's the portkey.Ready?"

They all reached out to touch an old rolled up newspaper at the same time, and Sirius suddenly found himself standing on the drive outside of his father's old retreat.The house was barely discernable in the darkness, and looked like nothing more than a huge shadow looming above the heavy forest of trees on either side.It was an old wooden frame house, rather like Remus' Tudor, but not nearly as welcoming.There were no beautiful gardens here, just a solitary gravelled drive that led across a flat featureless lawn up to the front doors.Quickly they went inside, and Remus lit his wand so they could see where they were going.He led them into the old dining room, in the middle of the house, and lit the lamps.

"This is the only room without windows, so nobody can see the light.Sirius?"

Sirius immediately transformed and watched both of their faces fall at the sight of him._I must look like I feel_.He gave a weak smile.

"Liz, could you give me one of those extra…."Liz didn't wait for him to finish before reaching into her bag and handing him a small bottle.He drank the contents and shuddered, then gave her back the bottle.

"Thanks, I think."

She smiled and handed him a piece of chocolate."That'll take the taste away and you look like you could do with some."

Sirius nodded and bit into the chocolate, instantly feeling better, but still shaking slightly from the cold.The buzzing in his head dimmed, but didn't go away.He looked around the room and was surprised to see that it was still decorated just as it had been before. Nothing seemed to have moved, although oddly everything was clean. He looked at Remus, who smiled.

"I cleaned it up, but as you see nothing has changed.All of you father's things are still in his study, even, and their clothes are upstairs in their room.There are even a few of your old things in your room.Listen, I know that Katie told you we nixed the idea of having Snape contact Malfoy.Instead, we opted to have Pembroke contact Malfoy."

Sirius raised his eyebrows at that."How did you manage that?"

Remus frowned."Well, I…."

Sirius stopped him.He knew how much Remus hated using the unforgivable curses, but obviously that would be the only way to force Pembroke to write such a note.

"Thank you, Moony.I know what that means to you."

"S'all right, Padfoot.He deserved to suffer. We're going to bring him here to talk to you.As soon as he's here, we're going to send the note.That will give you some time with him before Malfoy gets here.Dexter is here too, and he Liz and I will hide in the house to wait.We are hoping that Malfoy comes here with only a few of his most trusted compatriots.If he arrives with a sizable force, which seems unlikely but you never know, we'll have to….  
  


Sirius put his hands on his shoulders to give him a little shake and stop him."We have enough to deal with without getting too much into the what ifs.I know you're the master at coming up with all the ways a plan can go wrong," and here he grinned as best he could at Remus, "but, as I believe I used to tell you then, 'Moony, shut the hell up and let's get on with it'."

Remus did smile in return."And, sometimes, you were right."

"I'm feeling lucky.This will be one of the sometimes."

Remus' smile faded, but he said nothing else.He turned to go, looking at Liz.She nodded at him, but stepped over to Sirius before joining him to leave.

"Alright Mr. Black, please be very careful."

"You too, Miss Harker."

She smiled."I love you, Sirius."

Sirius' heart leapt.He'd hoped to hear her say that again, but he hadn't expected to hear it so soon."I love you, Liz."

Liz turned to go and she and Remus disappeared into the night.Sirius stood there, smiling, just enjoying a small instant of feeling very, very good. _It's going to work out.It's got to.I owe too much to too many ghosts not to do the best I can…._

He looked around the room, then lit his wand very softly and walked back out into the hall.The intense silence of the old place seemed to make everything look more ominous in the near darkness as he quietly walked up the hallway with barely a sound on the old rug. Slowly, he opened the door to his father's study and walked in.Remus was right, nothing seemed to have moved or been touched in all those years the house had stood here alone and waiting for another living soul to finally cross the threshold.Now someone was back, but it was so silent and so tense it didn't bring life back into the place.The house seemed to know that, and kept as silent and unwelcoming as it could, still waiting.

Sirius checked that the heavy old drapes were pulled before stepping into the room fully to look around.The bookshelves were lined with familiar books.Sirius stared at them, all in their old places, just where he would expect to find them.Then he caught sight of the one picture his father had kept out.It was a picture of him, his mother and his father, sitting on the grass by the river, eating a picnic lunch.Sirius stood there, frozen, seeing the figures still moving and smiling at each other.They were still smiling, even after sitting alone and in total darkness for so long.His mother looked more beautiful than he had ever remembered her being, and his father looked…_so incredibly happy.Why is it I never remember him looking like this? _He stared at himself, about 9 or 10, he couldn't remember exactly, laughing happily at his father.Sirius tried desperately to remember what they were doing, but that was one more memory Azkaban seemed to have taken.

He turned quickly and walked out of the study, still making barely a sound.He could feel the fury and angry rising up in him._Pembroke, you bastard.They were so young; they didn't deserve to be murdered by a coward and a traitor like you.You are going to tell me why you did it, if I have to curse you into next year.I have nothing to lose._

He went upstairs to look into his parents' old room.They had had a beautiful huge room with windows overlooking the river.But there was no view now except the total darkness of the night outside.He silently closed the drapes, then re-lit his wand and crept forward.He went over to his mother's dressing table, absently pulling open one of the little drawers where she used to keep what few pieces of jewellery she had other than her wedding band, which she never took off.Sirius could hear her humming, absently, like she used to when he would sit there with her when he was very little.He could feel his hand shake slightly as he reached into the drawer to see if anything was in there.

He was startled to feel that there was a ring in the very back of the drawer, but nothing else.He drew the ring out and held it up to this face to look closely at it.It was an old simple silver posy ring.It was dark with tarnish from having sat untended to for so long, but he could still read the 'you and no other' on the band. _This must have been his promise ring to her.She only took it off to change it for her wedding band._He gazed at it for a few moments, and was about to put it back in the drawer when he stopped and suddenly smiled as a thought occurred to him._ I think, maybe, they wouldn't mind if I used this myself. _Carefully he tucked the ring into his robes and went back downstairs.He nearly ran into Remus.

"There you are!Look, we've got Pembroke in the dining room.He is bound at the moment, but once we know Malfoy's here…."

"I haven't forgotten the Imperious Curse wither, Moony. And holding Pembroke shouldn't be a problem.He hasn't suddenly gained some extra power, I trust?"

Remus shook his head."You and I are more than a match for him. I've had no trouble and neither should you.Liz and Dexter are hidden in the main room off the front hall, where they can hear the front door.I'm going to be in the passage to the kitchen, behind you, where I can better hear what actually is going on in the dining room in case you need me."

They went back towards the dining room, and Sirius stopped Remus just before he went in."Remus, if Malfoy curses me a bit, don't tip your hand too soon.Let him, I want him to talk, and see what we can get.Understood?"

Remus glared a bit but nodded and turned to go into the next hallway.

Sirius walked into the dining room, where Pembroke was bound to a chair at the head of the table.His eyes quickly shifted to try and see who it was.Sirius stepped over in front of him and smiled icily. Pembroke had the good sense to look terrified.

"Hello, cousin.Well, we have a lot to discuss.Thanks for the dog bite; very interesting.You finally learned to do something beyond the Basic Book of Spells level four.And considering you barely got five OWLS, and only three NEWS, I believe, yes?Sorry, my memory isn't what it sued to be.I find I am missing large chunks of things here and there. That rather fits, since I also lost 12 years of my life rotting in a cell.But you know that, because I remember you coming to see me.Why did you do that?Were you there to see if I had finally gone mad?Or were you guilty over something?Hoping I was dead, or dying, so that I might never find out what you did to my parents, were you?"

Pembroke struggled a bit against his bonds and shook his head wildly as Sirius stepped forward.

"You did do that, didn't you?You sick, evil, weak and useless thing.I want to know why.Perhaps if you tell me, I won't turn you over to Malfoy.Oh, didn't Remus mention?Malfoy is about to suddenly discover who's been double-crossing him as of late.You, dear cousin.And you are going to tell him everything.I remember what Death Eaters used to do to traitors; you might not because I believe you, at that time, were carefully hiding in some obscure government job and doing absolutely nothing to try and stop the darkness that was about to destroy everything."

Pembroke had sweat running down his face now.He still shook his head weakly, but stopped looking at Sirius.

"Of course, you seem to have overcome your reluctance to do anything with your life.But why this?That's what I can't figure out.How could a coward like you, who has never cared about anything, suddenly become inspired to do the things you did?"

Sirius flicked his wand at Pembroke, who flinched, then gasped for breath as the gag fell from his mouth.

"Sirius…."

"Don't talk to me unless I ask you a question."

Pembroke looked at him, but said nothing.

"Did you kill my parents?"

"No."

Sirius walked up very close to Pembroke and leaned down."I don't believe you.My father, it would seem, was killed by a very powerful and unique sleeping curse. The same one that you tried to kill me with the other day.Not your handiwork?Then whose?"

Pembroke shook his head.Enraged, Sirius reached out with a snarl and grabbed Pembroke by the hair, forcing him to look at him.

"You tell me what happened and you tell me now.I may be accused of killing any number of people but the truth is to this day I have never taken another life.I believe you know that. But that can change, and I have _nothing_ to lose by killing you.Right now I think you killed my mother and father, in cold blood.That's reason enough for me to kill you.Tell me why I shouldn't."

Pembroke stared at him for a few moments.Sirius could feel that he was shaking, but Pembroke was trying very hard to look defiant as he looked at him.Sirius could see that there was something different in Pembroke's once empty gaze.Now there was a darkness to him.Things had definitely changed.Finally Pembroke nodded, and his mouth actually twitched into a dark smile.

"I didn't kill them, Sirius.But I know who did. And yes, he did teach me how to make the sleeping draft.And I did curse the dog.You always thought you were so bloody superior to me.But you were blind to everything around you that didn't suit you.You broke their hearts with your indifference to them, you know.I'm amazed you suddenly seem so concerned with them."

Sirius couldn't control himself any longer and let go of Pembroke's head long enough to punch him as hard as he could across the face.Pembroke gagged, and Sirius could just picture the look on Remus' face, knowing Remus could easily hear everything that was going on.

Pembroke gave him a murderous look."You're going to convince Malfoy we're working together holding me there with a beaten face?"

Sirius raised his wand and tended to the wound. "Of course not.Good as new."

He looked back at Pembroke."So, who did kill them? Answer me on this, Pembroke, and maybe you won't have to find out just how vicious and deadly Malfoy really is, in case you weren't aware."  


"Do you remember Blamires?"

Sirius tried to think back._Blamires?_

"We arrested him; he was a Death Eater."

"_You _arrested him.You and James. You had him thrown into Azkaban.But what you don't know is that he didn't stay there.He was released, during the trials that took place after the 'death' of Voldemort, after you were revealed to be a traitor yourself and…." He gagged as Sirius grabbed the front of his robes and twisted.

"Be very, very careful how you speak to me, Pembroke," he said softly, then let go.

Pembroke took a few deep breaths, and looked back at Sirius with even more hatred than before. But he was more careful with his words.

"After you were imprisoned, he was released.And he wanted revenge.He was never the same after Azkaban.His name, though cleared, was ruined.His family disowned him and threw him out.He and I had been in the same class at Hogwarts, and one day he came to me to ask for help.I took him in, feeling that it was unfair he not be given a chance.After all, he had been released.This was no way to treat an innocent man."

"He wasn't innocent, Pembroke."

Pembroke sneered. "No, but who could trust anything you said anymore? The only thing he was really being held on was your word.And Potters, but obviously…." Pembroke managed to stop himself finishing that sentence.

"I know something about being put aside, don't I?I know what it's like to have everyone make unfair assumptions about you, and to never give you a chance.You, you were always the one.Everyone expected such great things from Sirius.Special Sirius, born under such powerful stars, with so much promise."

Sirius gave a mirthless laugh."Joke's on you, isn't it?My life has been quite the opposite of blessed.So you, once again, seemed to have wasted yourself on nothing."

"You never understood that your mother really had the gift.And that when you were born she saw both great triumph and great tragedy for you.All she and your father ever wanted to do was to somehow stop the tragedy. Nothing is written, it is only a possibility.What happens to you happens because you make it or you let it.You let it happen.None of this would have, if you had just once managed to control yourself for five minutes and think about someone else.I know what really happened that night, dear cousin.I know all about Pettigrew.He told me himself."

Sirius couldn't say anything, he just stared at Pembroke, who now grinned maliciously at him."Blamires couldn't get revenge on Potter, because Potter was already dead, and Harry was hidden where no one could find him.But he could do something to you.He was the one who killed your father.Did him a favour, really, Sirius; Uncle Samhain was never the same after he lost you. It absolutely broke them both.Everything they had ever feared had come true, and you were gone.They believed in your innocence, you know; but they never knew how they might prove it. And they never knew who it was who had _really_ been the traitor.I think they might have suspected Remus for a while, but in truth they always liked him and couldn't really bring themselves to believe he could do such a thing.They may have felt differently, I suspect, if they knew what he really was…. "

Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. _They believed I was innocent? But they never, not once came to see me, or tried to speak with me…_

Pembroke continued.

"Blamires didn't have to do anything to your mother.Your father's death was more than she could bear. She just wasted away.Blamires had planned on killing her, too, but he was waiting in case any suspicion lingered that your father hadn't just ended his own life because of the shame you brought on him.So, she saved him a lot of trouble."

Sirius raised his arm to hit Pembroke again, but managed to stop himself.

"And now you think you're just going to get Malfoy to believe I've been helping you?Trust me, Malfoy made damn sure I haven't been.He's refused to take this fine house I've offered him for a long time, waiting to see…."Pembroke suddenly stopped and, for the first time, looked truly scared.

Sirius smiled and leaned closer."Oh, Pembroke, finally you figure all of this out.Malfoy is in no mood, I can assure you, to hear excuses, or listen to lengthy explanations.You _did _fail to protect that house in the New Forest.You _did _allow us to escape and expose the sight.You _were_ there the night Remus and I escaped the mansion, _with_ what we needed to bring down that circle.You have _no_ excuses to offer.And now you are about to corner Malfoy and expose him and, no doubt, one or two of his most trusted cohorts. And, I suspect make him look like a fool to Voldemort.Here Malfoy has had the opportunity to deliver the best safe house imaginable to him.Right next door to Dumbledore and Potter.And Malfoy is going to have to admit that he was almost fooled by you.Worthless, weak Pembroke Black.What did they promise you?Did they need to promise you anything? Were you just so desperate for anything…."

"Sirius, don't do this."

"Are you _begging_ me?To be honest, Pembroke, I hope Malfoy kills you on the spot tonight.That will save me the trouble…."

"Sirius, I didn't kill them, I told you…."

"But you made damn sure that Blamires could, didn't you?"

Pembroke said nothing.They stared at each other for a long time, until suddenly, Sirius heard a noise coming from the front hall.Instantly he turned to Pembroke and raised his wand.Pembroke tried to speak, but Sirius was too quick for him.

"_Imperious_"

Pembroke immediately froze in the spot, his face becoming blank and expressionless.Sirius undid the ties holding him, and forced him to stand. Pembroke stood frozen next to him as he stared at the doors leading to the front hall, waiting for them to open.

Finally, he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps crossing the front hall.They stopped for a moment, then came up to the dining room doors, and the doors were opened

Malfoy stepped out of the darkness into the room.Remus was right, Malfoy did not come alone.He had three other wizards with him.Sirius didn't recognize two of them, but his heart almost stopped when he saw the third.

_Draco._

_ _

_ _

_ _

_ _


	14. Veritas 19

# Veritas 19

Sorry, sorry, sorry for the delay.It's been a miserable week, but now I finally have a moment so all this (which has been running about my head) gets down on paper.And it too has been a source of nagging anxiety, of course. So, I really hope this works & you all like. I'm putting up the last chapter too, so no suffering!

Note on chapter 18: It is _imperio_; my beta bloke missed that.Moron.Well, both of us actually, so I guess that's moroni….

Okay, this has nothing to do w/anything, but I have to share my favourite old "damn you're over educated" joke – scroll past if you've heard it a million times.

_A man walks into a bar in ancient Rome and tells the bartender, "Give me a martinus"._

_The bartender looks at his and asks, "Don't you mean martini?"_

_The man looks at him and says, "If I want two, I'll ask for them."_

So – I'm not even gong to try and summarize this.It got a few screams from the gang here….

_ _

_ _

_Disclaimer – all Rowlings, except those that aren't hers…._

_ _

_ _

***

Sirius kept his eyes on Malfoy, not daring to look at Draco. _What the hell is he doing here?_

Malfoy stared at Sirius for a few moments; neither moved.Just as Sirius was about to say something, however, he saw Malfoy's eyes take a very quick surprised glance behind Sirius' shoulder, in the direction of one of the doors leading to the back hallway._Remus, I told you to stay…._

Sirius was suddenly wracked with a blinding pain, and his whole body went rigid, before he fell to the floor, stunned, unable to move and barely able to breathe, like something had closed around his throat.He felt Pembroke fall next to him heavily.He tried desperately to at least lift his head enough to see who was behind him, but couldn't.He could feel his heart racing, and saw Malfoy take a few steps closer, motioning for Draco to come with him._More than we thought?How did they get past Liz and Dexter…._

"Well, well, well, Malfoy.You have been careless as of late."

Sirius could not believe he was hearing what he thought he was._Impossible…._

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at this, but replied, calmly, "We haven't seen you for a while.I hadn't thought you would be back.Interesting."

"As ever, Malfoy, I have my own things to tend to."

"So it would seem, Harker.Exactly what are you doing here with these two?"

Sirius could see sweat starting to pour down Pembroke's face as Malfoy leaned down to look more closely at them. He felt frozen to the bone, too stunned to even think, as he suddenly noticed Liz walk up to him and Pembroke. She knelt down to pick up their wands, and tucked them into her pocket.He stared at her, unable to believe that she… _All along.She's been part of them all along…no, NO! It's can't be true._She didn't catch his eye, and Sirius could see that she had on her usual calm, relaxed and self-assured expression.She rose to her feet again and casually went to stand next to Draco.She gave him a quick look, but Draco didn't flinch and stood there in his own cold and detached fashion. Liz faced Malfoy with a small smile.

"I've been keeping an eye on things.Pembroke's been very busy as of late, hasn't he?"

Sirius' heart leapt._She's setting him up…._

Pembroke was now struggling so hard he actually managed to move a little.His face had gone red from the strain and his eyes were terrified.Malfoy just smiled more maliciously.

"So, I was right about you.You've been helping this worthless cousin of yours all along.And you were trying to trap us in this house."

Pembroke was able to shake his head wildly, but he still couldn't speak.Sirius, able to move slightly himself now, looked more closely at Liz and Draco.They seemed to be staring at each other._It's like she's trying to see what he's up to…_Liz turned from Draco, however, as Malfoy stood up again.He gave Pembroke a kick to roll him over a few times and move him away from Sirius.Malfoy then waved his wand and muttered a spell, setting up a ring of fire around Pembroke, then turning and doing the same with Sirius.He knelt down again beside Sirius and gave him a furious stare.

"I'll deal with you in a minute, Black.You're going right to the Ministry, and you'll be given the kiss without question.I will be rid of you once and for all.Did you find your actions this morning amusing?I hope it was worth it."

Liz raised an eyebrow at Lucius as he stood and turned to Pembroke again.

"That one; plain as day, was in London this morning."

Liz gave a laugh.

"Really?I wondered where he went to when he left here.I thought it better to keep an eye on that one."

Malfoy walked to the edge of the circle of fire and stared down at Pembroke.

"Yes.Traitors are our biggest concern.My son is here to see what happens to traitors.Soon he will be an adult and will take his rightful place with us.He needs to see what real loyalty to a cause is all about."

Sirius caught Draco's eye at this comment.Draco looked pained and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.Sirius looked quickly at Liz, then back at Draco.Draco checked to see that his father wasn't paying any attention to him, then quietly raised an eyebrow.Sirius nodded just as slightly.He tried to smile a bit, but wasn't sure if he'd managed it, as Draco suddenly turned and walked up to his father's side.

"Father, are you so sure Pembroke is what you think he is?Maybe he captured Black and was going to hand him over.You haven't given him a chance to speak."

Pembroke looked so relieved at this he seemed about to burst into tears.But Malfoy didn't look at him and faced his son with a stoic expression.Liz risked a glance at Sirius, who kept his eyes firmly on Draco, wondering what the boy was up to.

"Draco.Pembroke was unaccounted for when that one and Lupin escaped last year.You said that someone had attacked you, and I have suspected that it was him for a while.He has been very eager to please.Too eager.Never, _never_, trust anyone who is so desperate for your acceptance.You know that.I will admit," and here Malfoy's face grew very tight, "that I made an error in allowing Wormtail to convince me to leave Pembroke to guard the safe house we have lost."

Sirius couldn't believe his ears._Peter…he was there.If we hadn't, we might have…._Sirius let out a strangled gasp of frustration and tried to turn over onto his back._Always so close, but never close enough._

Malfoy looked over at Sirius with a cold smile."Yes, how disappointing for you, Black.Not many people know, do they?And nobody's telling, I can assure you.He won't live much longer anyway, he's much too dangerous.Quite deranged.But he seems of use to his Lordship right now, so he still breathes.I haven't yet decided if, perhaps, he allows some old feelings to cloud his judgement on some things.I would be a fool not to suspect, after what happened, that maybe he left Pembroke there deliberately, but alas, I cannot prove it."

With that, he turned back to Pembroke."Or can I?Perhaps you can shed some light on this situation."

He took his wand and, after making the flames of the holding circle flare up and burn Pembroke slightly, suddenly had Pembroke on his feet.He bound his hands behind his back, and then released whatever spell Liz had put on him to prevent him speaking with a chuckle.

"You are your grandfather's protégée, aren't you Harker?Haven't seen that one used in a while."

"Malfoy, don't …she's…." Pembroke stopped as Malfoy waved an angry hand.

"I would suggest, Black, that you keep quiet unless I ask you a question."

Pembroke was too terrified and too panicked to stop himself.

"You're wrong!About everything!I am no traitor, I am a worthy servant and you are being used!"

Malfoy cursed Pembroke again.Pembroke screamed and fell to his knees; but he wouldn't stop talking.As soon as he could he looked back up at Malfoy.Sirius saw that his face was now burned from being too near the flames, but Pembroke didn't seem to notice.He was furious now, apparently more angry than frightened.

"It wasn't me!Are you so blind?It was that boy!He's the one!He's not part of your cause, Malfoy!He's the one behind most of this!"

Malfoy was to shocked to move at first.He just stood there, between Liz and Draco, watching Pembroke.Sirius actually, in that instant, felt sorry for Pembroke, because he wasn't going to survive what he'd just said._He might have made it alive out of all of this, but not now.Even if Draco…. No.Draco is not with them.He may not be entirely with us, but he is no Death Eater._

Pembroke continued, screaming now, blood and tears streaming down his face. "How do you think they broke your circle?How could they possibly have done that without his blood?How!? Draco let them go; and it was Draco who got you out of the house that night! 

Malfoy snapped."Crucio!"

At this, the two other Death Eaters who had stood until then at the back of the dining room by the doors stepped forward.Sirius could see Draco's face tense, but he did not look at them, instead he kept his eyes focused on Pembroke, twisting and writhing under the spell.Liz watched Draco's face closely, and then spoke to Malfoy.

"Malfoy…."

Lucius Malfoy ignored her, instead stopping his curse and stepping to the very edge of the flames to stare down at Pembroke.

"How dare you accuse my son like this to save yourself!Black and Lupin are talented and powerful wizards.With guidance from you, they could easily, _easily,_ have figured a way to use another's blood.Blood freely given for any spell is powerful enough.So you are the one who's been spreading these rumours about him, to save your own worthless life, and to try and destroy us!"

Pembroke, for whatever reason, still did not keep quiet."It _is _Draco!That boy has been helping them, can't you see?He didn't kill them then and he's not going to do it now….And that woman…."

Lucius moved with such staggering swiftness they couldn't have stopped him if they tried.Pembroke never had a chance; he was dead in an instant.

Nobody moved for a few seconds, when suddenly Malfoy looked back up from Pembroke's body and over at Sirius.

"Them.Of course; the werewolf's here somewhere.You two, go find him.But don't kill him, _I _want to do it. I lost my chance before, but this time it will make no difference, and there will be no witnesses…."

Sirius was unable from his vantage point to really tell what happened next.Liz seemed to step up next to Malfoy and gave a vague looking smile that Sirius would have bet even money on that she'd picked up right from Remus._What's she doing?_He heard the footsteps of the other Death Eaters moving away when suddenly he saw Draco turn, behind his father's back, and raise his wand. 

At that instant, Pembroke's robes, too close to the circle that still lay around his body, burst into flames.As Malfoy turned, Liz suddenly moved and released Sirius from the spell that was holding him.He heard more people suddenly enter the room, and Malfoy looked back up.

"Lupin!I knew it!"

Sirius jumped up, and Liz quickly handed him his wand before racing over to Draco and grabbing him away from the fire which now roared, feeding off the old dry wood of the table and chairs, and the ancient rug. Because it was a dark spell, the fire had an unusual intensity and ferocity.Sirius quickly brought down the circle around him and looked up for Remus and Dexter, whom he assumed had come in behind him.The smoke and flames were now very dense, and he got no reply when he shouted, except a spell suddenly shot past him and Malfoy reappeared from the other side of the table.

"Not again, Black!"

Sirius was still a little numb from the effects of the binding spell, but he managed to at least hold Malfoy back momentarily with a flash of blinding light as he stepped back closer to the back doors. But it was only a momentary respite as suddenly his wand was pulled from his hand.He swung back to see Malfoy standing there, more enraged and more furious than he had ever seen him.

"I said not again!"

Sirius fell to his knees as Malfoy cursed him at the top of his lungs, moving forward._This is it…Remus get out of this house…._

Malfoy said something that made the flames roar even more strongly, practically building into wall of fire behind him.

"I have wanted so much to see you get the kiss, Black, but this will have to do.I must finish this now, as I cannot afford to lose this house…."

Malfoy stopped as he fell forward, stunned.Sirius was able to just make out someone reaching for him, pulling him back towards the last door not engulfed in flames.

"Get up, Black," said Draco."I can't carry you and I don't know where the others…."

Remus suddenly appeared on his other side, helping Draco.He was coughing furiously and his face was black with soot.

"There are others outside in front.Dexter and Liz are dealing with them.Draco, how many came with you?"

Sirius was on his feet now, and they stumbled towards the door.

"Five…."

"LET GO OF MY BOY!"

Draco's face had a look of utter terror as he turned back to see his father, moving with difficulty, struggling towards them.He was shaking from head to toe, obviously fighting the effects of the stunning spell as best he could.Malfoy managed to take advantage of their momentary surprise to curse at Sirius once more.

Malfoy was fast, but not fast enough. Sirius turned quickly, pushing Draco and Remus away from him, and felt the spell move past him. Something hit him from behind, though, something heavy.He didn't have time to look, and he couldn't risk taking his eyes off Malfoy.He could no longer see Draco or Remus through the smoke and flames.He moved backwards towards one of the rear doors.Malfoy tried again to curse him, but he was drained, and Sirius was able to turn and bolt out of one of the doors.It was open, at least, so he assumed that Remus and Draco had got out.He raced down the hall towards the back room where there was a door that led outside.

As he rounded the corner, he ran into Remus and Draco.Remus looked horrified as he stared at Sirius._What?_

_ _

Remus just blinked once then turned to Draco.

"Get him outside.I'll make sure your father gets out."

"No."

"Draco…."

"Let him burn."

Sirius shook his head, but suddenly found he couldn't speak as a blinding pain shot across his back.He looked at Remus, his vision suddenly getting very cloudy._Was I cursed?I can't feel anything…._

Sirius could vaguely hear muffled voices, but everything suddenly seemed to fade into a still silence, and he felt utterly calm.He seemed to fall forward onto his knees in slow motion, but instantly felt arms grasping him and pulling him up.The blinding pain came back at that, and he felt, not heard himself scream.But now he was moving forward somehow, and where everything had been in slow motion, now he seemed to be racing forward at a blinding speed._Just like when I had my bike…._

He couldn't see Remus, but he knew that he was there somehow.Sirius tried to say something, but he seemed unable to remember how._Remus?_

He suddenly realized he was outside.He blinked at the dark star filled sky he could see hanging above him._What did my mother see?Did it really all mean something?_He felt overwhelmingly tired.Even the pain in his back seemed to vanish as he gazed out at the inky sky and watched the lights of the stars seem to blur into hazy orbs rather than distinct points.He couldn't hear anything at all now, but he didn't really seem to care about that anymore.He gazed at the stars, then blinked, and his head seemed to clear momentarily.Right there in front of him he could see the Dog Star, as cold, calm, and quiet as himself.

_Such a silly name, father. Perhaps you had a sense of humour after all._

Sirius blacked out.


	15. Veritas 20

# Veritas 20

All good things…. Come to a reasonably sappy little ending

Disclaimer:Still not mine.

***

Sirius managed to get one eye open. He felt like he had been sleeping one off, but to the best of his recollection, he had not had a chance to have that much fun last time he was conscious.He suddenly realized he was in the hospital wing at Hogwarts._Wow.Must have been bad, if they risked keeping me here and not taking me back to Remus'_

"Hi."

Sirius sat up slightly and managed to focus enough to see Harry was sitting next to him on the end of the bed.He was smiling, but it was a decidedly tense smile._Okay, it was bad._

"Hi." Sirius didn't recognize his own voice.

"I didn't expect to see you at all until the summer, so I guess there's some advantage to you practically getting yourself killed…." Harry suddenly stopped.He was scowling now, unable to try and hold a smile. "Remus told me everything.It wasn't worth it, Sirius; if you had died, it wouldn't have been worth it. I _need _you, Sirius.I need you alive, and in my life, and being my godfather and my friend."

"Harry…."

"No, listen to me.Sirius, there's something you and I never talk about, but I _need _to tell you.And you need to listen.I don't blame you.I don't blame you for what happened, because it wasn't your fault.You loved them, and you were trying to do what you thought was best for them.And for me. None of us are perfect.But, if you get yourself killed doing stupid things, and you really do leave me all alone, I _will _blame you for that."

Sirius said nothing; just lay there staring at Harry.Harry looked both intensely angry and scared at the same time, but he said nothing else.

"I'm sorry," Sirius finally said."Harry, I did love James and Lily, more than I can ever really say properly.They were two of the most wonderful people I have ever known, and they deserved to live.And you deserved to know them.No amount of stories I tell you or Remus tells you will ever make up for you not _knowing_ them.That's what hurts; not that they're dead so much, not that I'll never see them again, but that you will never know them."

Harry nodded slowly, but said nothing.

"I learned something the other day," continued Sirius, turning to look at the ceiling, unwilling to look at Harry any more. "I never knew my parents either.And that's worse, because they were right there.I just never looked beyond myself at them.I've been remembering bits, here and there, and I was just…. wrong.And all of a sudden I wanted so desperately to _know _them for who they really were, not who I thought they were.And that's when I realized why I was still so sad about what you have to live with, because…. because of what happened.You never had the chance to know them.And I will always be profoundly sorry for that."

Sirius could feel tears slowly running down his face, but his voice stayed strong and he sighed, quickly wiping the tears away. He looked back over at Harry, who was smiling quietly.

"It's okay to be sorry about it Sirius, but it's not okay to blame yourself."

"I don't.Not anymore, although you're right, I did for a very long time.Sitting in Azkaban that was almost the only thing I could think of.That it was all my fault. I would think what people must be saying about me, and figured I deserved it, because they were after all dead because of me, and that I had betrayed their trust by being so stupid."

"Sirius, please…." Sirius reached over and grabbed Harry's arm, although he still didn't look at him.

"Let me finish.I can't explain what Azkaban does to you, does to your thoughts.I couldn't _help _but think like that.It intensified that horrible feeling of shame and despair over telling them to choose Peter.It's must worst memory, so to the dementors, that was what I had to live with.Now, having been away for a while, and having been with Remus and Katie; it's getting better.My thoughts are more my own, when they haven't been for so long.But I still feel I let your parents down."

"I don't think my mum or my dad would want you to feel like that!"

Sirius had to smile at that."You're quite right.Lily would probably box me in the ears for being so pigheaded about it.But they would also understand that because of what happened to me in Azkaban, that sometimes I just can't help thinking like that.But I'm getting better, Harry.I intend to survive; body, mind and soul.What happened, happened. I'd give almost anything to change it, but I don't blame myself for it anymore.Okay?"

Harry nodded."How are you feeling?

"Awful, actually.What happened?Or don't you want to talk about it…"

Harry's smile faded a bit, but he stood up and moved to sit in the chair next to the head of the bed and looked at Sirius.

"Your house is gone.Burned to the ground.The bodies of two wizards were found inside near the centre of the house, and a third a few feet away from them.Your cousin and two other Death Eaters.Remus won't give me too many details, but Mr. Malfoy seems to be missing, and Draco is very quiet.Remus says to leave him alone for a while, but to remember that Draco was instrumental in your getting out of the house alive.Dexter Tanner was very badly hurt, but he's expected to make a full recovery, although he's lost the use of one arm."

"Where's Liz?"

Harry smiled at that.

"She's here.Remus has gone somewhere for a few days, but he'll be back soon, and left you a birthday gift in case he's not here on your birthday."Harry pointed at a box sitting on the stand next to the bed, wrapped neatly in bright purple paper.

"Remus says that's the last time.You must be more careful in the future, as he's starting to get suspicious looks from Mr. Olivander."

Sirius grinned. "I need to get my own, anyway.Wands that pick Remus work all right but they tend to make my arm hurt.What's in that one, do you know?"

Harry shook his head."Ask him when you see him."

"Why am I here, anyway? Shouldn't I be at Remus'?"

Harry shook his head.

"Nobody's at that house right now.Remus wants to let it lay empty while he tries to figure out where Malfoy is."

"You said Draco was alright?"  
  


"Yes, he's fine.Malfoy brought him back to school last night, although officially Draco never left.We spoke very briefly this morning.His father suspects nothing, and is just relieved that you and Remus fled before you had a chance to kill Draco.He doesn't suspect Liz either, and Draco commented that it was a damn good thing his father can't seem to recall exactly what happened. Malfoy's gone to ground for a while. It may have something to do with an anonymous note being sent to Fudge that Malfoy was last seen in the company of Pembroke Black before he was killed."

Sirius put a hand over his eyes and just let it all sink in for a minute.Then he slowly sat up.Harry reached out to help him.

"Careful. You were badly hurt when a burning beam fell off the ceiling onto your back.And it seems that they discovered another very interesting quality to the sleeping curse."Sirius quickly looked up at Harry, who kept his gaze evenly."Yes, I know all about that.Anyway, its effects are intensified if the victim is cursed or hexed again.Katie thinks it's some sort of 'guarantee' built in, so in case the victim puts up a fight after they've been affected they will be brought down more quickly."

"It scares me how clinical Katie can get about things like this."

At that moment, Liz walked in with a goblet.She seemed very surprised, but pleased, that Sirius was sitting up.

"You woke up on your own! That's excellent, Mr. Black."

Sirius gave her the best smile he could muster under the present conditions. "Thank you, Miss Harker."

"Hi Harry.Has he been up for a while?"

Harry nodded."We've been talking about things.I was just going to get you."

Liz handed the goblet to Sirius, who dutifully drank it._Oh gods, this is worse than before…._

Liz smiled."It's a little stronger than before, just in case."

"I told him what Katie discovered," said Harry grinning at Sirius, who had a very sour expression on his face. "He didn't seem very impressed."

Liz laughed and took the goblet. "Well, you also need to get up.Take it very slowly, because even though we've tended to that burn on your back, it's going to be very tender for a while.Now, I know that it's not very exciting to be here, so if you feel up to it, I've got a little surprise, but it involves a portkey.Be honest, Sirius, can you take that right now?"

Sirius stood up, wincing a bit at the dull ache in every muscle he seemed to have, but feeling better by the second as the potion took effect.He smiled at Liz.

"I think for you I can brave a few aches and pains."

Harry grinned at this comment and left with a cheery "See you both later", closing the door behind him.

Sirius glanced at the door, and then looked back a Liz.She was watching him with a smile, but her expression seemed at little closed.

"Get dressed. Remus has brought you a few things from the house…."

Sirius went over and pulled open the drawer of the nightstand slightly.There were some clean clothes, and on top of a white shirt sat Sirius' mother's ring. It had been cleaned of all the tarnish and grime that had built up, and Sirius could now see that in addition to the traditional words, the ring was decorated in some of the most beautiful and delicate carving he had ever seen. Stunning. My father certainly had amazing taste.This is a ring worthy of the beautiful girl she was… Sirius blinked at it, then quickly closed the drawer so Liz wouldn't see. Oh, Remus, thank you. Still smarter than the rest of us, and still miles ahead. He must have found it in my robes.

Sirius smiled up at her."I'll just get dressed now, thanks."

Liz turned to leave. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Sirius quickly got dressed, putting the ring carefully in his trouser pocket, grateful that Remus had brought him old and comfortable muggle clothes because robes' pockets got a bit mysterious.Liz knocked and he opened the door to let her in

"So, where's this portkey?"

She took a small book out of her pocket and placed it on the bed.Then she took out her wand and said a simple travelling spell.

"Ready?"

They reached forward and held the portkey.After a few seconds the spell took effect, and Sirius felt himself yanked out of the hospital wing to be deposited in Liz's flat.She had laid a large meal out on her dining room table. Candles covered the room, and a fire blazed quietly in the fireplace, its warm glow in strong contrast to the storm that seemed to be blowing outside.

He looked at Liz and smiled.She gave a shy grin and threw the portkey down on one of the chairs."I wanted to do something nice to apologize for giving you such a fright in the house last night."

Sirius's smile shook a bit. "Yes.That was…unexpected.Why didn't you say you knew Malfoy?Or more importantly, that he knew you?"

Liz handed him a glass of wine."You're only allowed one, so keep that in mind." Then she sat down on the couch, putting her own glass on the table.Sirius stayed standing, looking at her with an expectant expression.

Liz looked back up and sighed."I told you my grandfather was a Death Eater.I didn't mention that he was a personal friend of Malfoy's.My grandfather kept an extremely low profile, even during those last days when Voldemort had come so close…. My father was killed, and my mother wanted nothing more than to get me away from my grandfather and his cohorts.But she was too scared to just leave, so instead she sent me away from the house. After I left for Hogwarts, I never went home for the holidays.I stayed at school at Christmas, and for summer break my mother took me travelling with her all over the world.But that didn't last.My grandfather demanded to see me, and was trying, just as my mother feared, to make me a Death Eater.I managed to avoid ever being outright 'initiated' as it were, and then Voldemort fell, and I left to hide in the muggle world.But I still had my family, and I did not run from them completely. I have seen Malfoy off and on over the years, even after my grandfather passed.I would bump into him in odd places.I always felt like he was keeping tabs on me, to see if maybe I had in fact stayed 'true' to my grandfather's loyalties.I always encouraged his suspicions that I had, because it seemed a way to keep him at a safe distance.If he suspected that I in fact was not sympathetic, especially now…."

"So, you were just keeping your own cover?Can you go to them…."?

Liz shook her head, as Sirius finally sat down next to her at a respectful distance.

"No, it's nothing like that.First of all, I'm no good as a mole because I'm _not_ sympathetic to them.They see me as _apathetic_ at best.And that's fine.But the real reason I did that was because I saw Draco with him."

Sirius nodded and took a small sip of the wine.

Liz continued. "I didn't want Draco to get hurt.It seemed the only option.And, in all honesty, I was stunned to see Draco and wanted to make sure he was what he claimed to be."She gave him an apologetic look but he just smiled and nodded.

"Liz, how did we all get out?"

"You probably missed catching Draco bind the two Death Eaters who were in the room with us," she started.

"I thought that's what happened.I could see some of it out of the corner of my eye."

"Once he did that, Remus came in.I grabbed Draco to get him out of that room, and met with Dexter outside.Draco told us there were two more Death Eaters, then ran back around the dining room to get in through the door Remus had entered from.At that point the other two Death Eaters appeared.We managed to subdue them, but Dexter was very badly hurt.We got all of us out of the house, and suddenly Remus ran round from the back just, as I was about to go back inside.The first floor of the house was now burning out of control.He said he had you, and we needed to get out of here, now.He collected you while I turned come stones from the drive into portkeys to take you and Dexter back to Hogwarts, because we needed to get you seen to and I couldn't do anything stronger to go any further because you were both so badly hurt."

Sirius sat there looking at her as she explained all this._What a night_.

"Malfoy got out?"

"Remus convinced Draco to make certain Malfoy got out."

Sirius gave a small grunt and leaned his head on his hand. "Well, that's Remus for you.Could have solved the problem with Malfoy but…."

Liz looked into his eyes. "But Remus would never allow Draco to live with the knowledge that he allowed his own father to burn to death, no matter what the circumstances."

Sirius stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled and reached out to take her hand."Okay, that's enough of that.In the end, we've managed to do some good work, I think, and that's what matters, right?"He winked at her and she smiled.

"Let's see what you've got for dinner, shall we?"

They moved to the table and sat closely together, talking about nothing in particular and laughing a lot while they ate.Sirius could finally feel the numbing cold slowly creeping out of his body, and he felt more relaxed and at ease than he had in a while._This is so perfect.I want to do this every night for the rest of my life.No Death Eaters, no Voldemort, no escaped convict woes…just us._ He couldn't help thinking for a moment about what Malfoy had said about Peter. _He won't live much longer…I've got to find him before they finish him off._

Liz reached out to touch his cheek quietly.Startled, he turned to look at her.She had a sad smile on her face and raised an eyebrow.

"Where did you go just then?I thought we were having a nice happy little dinner, and suddenly you looked so sad."

Sirius smiled at her, then took her hand and stood up.He led them back over to the couch, where he sat down heavily and drew her down to curl up next to him.

"That was a wonderful dinner.Thank you.And I'm very happy.I just couldn't help thinking for a moment that it would be so nice to spend every night of the rest of our lives like this, and how that is still…not really an option.Not free yet."

Liz didn't say anything for a long time, but gazed at him with an expression he couldn't seem to fathom.Then she smiled very slightly and went a little pink._What's this now?_

"Sirius, I have something to ask you."

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I don't like asking for promises."

Sirius smiled at her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I told you before, I will never make a promise to you I can't keep, or I won't keep.I won't do that to either of us.But if I can make the promise, I will."

"Promise me this, Sirius.Promise me we'll try to spend every night for the rest of our lives like this. Will you marry me?"

Sirius stared at her._Did she…?_ He felt an insanely happy smile creep across his face as he laughed quietly and pulled her closer so he could kiss her.Then he pulled back and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Oh, God, Liz; yes.As soon…"

"Don't say it.I know.I know that there's nothing to be done until…until you are cleared.But promise me, when that happens…"

"When that happens, Miss Harker, we'll get married the next day. Or that afternoon, if we can manage it, I don't care either way.I have something for you, something I found in the house. Seems we are of a like mind."

It was his turn to smile shyly and blush a bit as he reached in his pocked and then held up the ring to show her. She looked very surprised.

"It was my mothers. It's a poesy ring, I know that.My father must have given it to her, because they were together since they were 12 or thereabouts, I do know that.I know they were happy in their own way.I'm trying to…to go back and think about things.We always seemed to be fighting, Liz.But I know that can't be true. I used to think they just sort of were always disappointed in me. But – we were so different.They were exactly alike, but me?I was an opposite and we never seemed to figure out how that all worked. I know they loved me, but they didn't know how to talk to me.And I never tried, really, to talk to them.I was just so busy being right and being angry that I never really listened. The sad thing now is, I am listening.And I hear it all now; I hear how much they cared, that they wanted…."

Sirius stopped and shook his head, reaching to take her hand and quietly slipping the ring on her finger.He gazed at it for a few moments before looking back up at her."Liz, I've paid a terrible price to get here.I can't go back and tell them.I can't get James and Lily back, I can't get all those years I lost back.But I want to do everything I can, now, to just do it right.That seems to be the best way to thank the people I lost for everything they ever gave me. So that's my promise."

Liz looked back down at the ring and smiled.

"It's very beautiful.Your father must have loved her very much.I'm honoured to have this."

Sirius said nothing, but sat back, holding her closely, and smiled out the window at the storm outside. After a while, Liz spoke up again.

"Sirius, there's one other thing with all of this we need to think about. Soon, I'm afraid."

"I need to leave for a while.I already thought of that. Even Remus won't complain this time, I think.But…."

Liz put a finger on his lips and smiled.

"Where shall we go then?"

"We?"

"I think I'd better keep a low profile, too.What happened may or may not be partially blamed on me.The good news is that if isn't going to be blamed on Draco.But I think I'll just disappear again myself for a bit, in case Malfoy comes calling."

Sirius sat them up and turned to face her."Liz, we need everyone here we…"

"I'm not suggesting we drop off the face of the earth, Sirius.We'll be back soon. A month maybe; and if anything happens before then, we'll be back.Deal?"

Sirius stared at her, trying to think of a good argument to keep her here, but thinking more about the wonderful possibilities of having her all to himself for a while.He finally gave her a guilty smile and raised an eyebrow.

"So where are we going?"

"I asked you first."

Sirius grinned."Well, I wouldn't mind going wherever it was you were in that picture of you with the lovely shorts."

Liz chuckled."That happens to be one of the most beautiful spots on the earth, you know, and a personal favourite of mine."

"Where is it, then?"

"It's called Death Valley"

Sirius burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's just perfect isn't it?Yes, Miss Harker, Let's go to Death Valley to lay low from the Death Eaters, shall we?"

***

Sirius placed the last of his things in a pack.He couldn't look at Remus and Malcolm though, and felt tears in his eyes.Remus stepped over next to him, though he still said nothing. Sirius closed his pack, and then turned to face Remus, smiling weakly at Malcolm, who gazed at him with his quiet brown eyes and smiled in return.

"This is awful Remus.I want to go and I can't stand to leave here."

"You'll be back."

Sirius did start to cry softly now, and reached over to take Malcolm from Remus.

Remus watched Sirius hug Malcolm and give him a finger to tug at. "I noticed that Liz was wearing a new ring," he said softly.

"Yes.Thank you for cleaning it for me.It was my mother's; I found it in her old dressing table in their bedroom at that house.It's all I have of them.In all honesty, I think it's all I want.And I think…they're happy to let us have it."

Remus just nodded.

"She asked me to marry her, Remus."

Remus smiled at that."She asked you?I can't think of anything more perfect for the two of you.When will you get married, then?"  
  


"Not yet.Not until I have a name to give her.But then, as soon as I can." He wiped the tears from his cheeks and finally smiled openly at Malcolm, who reached up and patted him on the cheek.Sirius laughed quietly.

"He learned that from you, Padfoot.We expect you home soon, as I'm sure there's lots else you have to teach him."

"You teach him, Moony.He's your boy, and he's splendid."

Remus took Malcolm back as Sirius passed him over.

"Sirius…."

"Don't say it.I know.We'll be back in a month, I think.You won't hear from us while we're gone. But if anything comes up, let me know immediately."

Remus nodded.

"See you soon, Padfoot," he said, very quietly.

"You will.Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can.Malcolm, be good.What am I saying?Malcolm, make an effort to try and be a little fussy, as it's quite unimaginable that you are as trouble free as you seem."

Sirius winked at Remus and left, happy to hear Remus laughing.

He met Liz in the front hall, where she was standing with Katie, who, Sirius was stunned to see, was crying.

"Katie-girl, what on earth is wrong?"

Katie just shook her head and gave him a hug."Please be careful and please be back soon.I can't stand to think of you wandering loose where I can't keep an eye on you."

Sirius laughed."We'll be fine, Katie."

"Of course you will, I know that.Off with both of you. We'll see you soon."

Sirius and Liz walked out and crossed the garden to the road, where they stopped and looked at each other.

"So, off we go."

Sirius winked at her.

"I have to say, this is the first time going underground has been so much fun."

"Yes, well, let's just get on with it.The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back.And then the sooner we get on with our life, Mr. Black."

"We'll make it, Miss Harker.I have no doubts.Pembroke said my mother saw great tragedy and great triumph for me.I think I'm done with the tragedy bit now.Let's go full steam ahead to the triumph bit.I'm thinking it's a little overdue."

"So much for your distain for astrology."

"With a name like Sirius, how can I possibly hold out?"

*******

# EPILOGUE

Sirius wouldn't sit down at the table, choosing instead to stand impatiently by the window.Liz finally gave up asking him to just sit down and eat his lunch.

"Sirius, staring at the sky will not make the owl appear any faster."

Griffin was dutifully staying put as his mother had told him to, but he had finished and was lightly kicking the legs of his chair, impatient to be allowed up.Liz caught his eye and was rewarded with an apologetic grin and a cessation in the kicking.

"Thank you, young Mr. Black."

"May I please be excused?"

"No!"Sirius finally turned from the window and smiled at his son.He picked him up, and Sat down finally with Griffin on his lap. "You stay here with me.I'm a nervous wreck, and I need some distractions."

"Such as?"

"Well, let's have a chat. Are you looking forward to school starting again next week?"

Griffin shrugged."I guess.Yeah, but…."

"But what?" 

"I wish _I_ was starting Hogwarts."

Sirius laughed."In a few years. Please don't be in such a rush to leave your mother and I, as we're rather fond of you."

"If a little fearful of your destructive tendencies," added Liz, giving her son a wink.Griffin just laughed.Sirius grinned at his wife, who shook her head at him, smiling.

"Never a dull moment around here."

At that moment Griffin jumped up and opened the window, letting in a large grey owl.Sirius gave the bird a fright when he jumped up himself with a rather loud cheer and reached for it.Liz took the owl up on her arm and walked it away from the table, laughing as it glared at Sirius.

"I don't think Malcolm will be at all pleased if you scare his beautiful new pet to death the first time he uses her to deliver you a message.Alright, Boinn, sit here.Thank you, I'll just get you something to eat." Liz handed the note the owl gave her to Sirius as she went to fetch some water and owl treats.Sirius gave the owl an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Boinn.Gods, I wish I could make you talk!"

"Why would you do that, daddy?"

"Well she could tell us all about the ride up to Hogwarts, couldn't she?"

Griffin looked at his father like he was completely insane. Sirius grinned at him and opened the letter.

"What's Malcolm say?"

"This is addressed to all of us, so I'll read it out loud."

Dear Liz, Griffin & Sirius-

First of all, Sirius, the sorting hat does not hurt, and the sorting wasn't in the least bit frightening.So Griffin, if he tries to tell you that when you get up here, don't believe a word of it.

"Is that true, daddy?" asked Griffin, raising an eyebrow and giving his father a rather stern stare with his dark eyes.

Sirius shook his head and looked grave. "He's just being brave, Griffin; you know what Malcolm's like."

"Sirius!"

I'll write more later; there's just so much to do right now.And I just know I'm going to keep getting lost.It took us ages to get to the Great Hall for breakfast, until we found some third years to follow.Tarquin says we may starve to death before we get it all worked out.

But I know what you really want to hear, Sirius, is that I _was _sorted into Gryffindor, just like you and Dad said I would be. It was really neat, to walk into the common room and picture you and Dad there, and Hermione & Ron, and Harry.It looks just like you described it.I'm sitting in one of the big chairs now, and it is very comfortable.I remember you saying that Dad used to curl up in them and sleep when he needed his rest after the full moon.I think what I like best about being in Gryffindor is that I don't really feel all that homesick, thinking about you being here.Tarquin's in Gryffindor, too.There are three other boys with us.I'll tell you about them next letter.

I miss you, and I'll see you all when I come home for Christmas.

Love, 

Malcolm

Sirius was smiling as he continued to stare at the letter, but he could feel tears in his eyes as well._Wow.Malcolm's at Hogwarts.Amazing; and it happened so fast.He was just born, wasn't he?Gods, Harry's already been through, and has a daughter of his own, and in nine short years, she'll be there too. And Griffin's just gone six, so in five years…. Didn't Remus, James, Lily and I just leave there?_

Sirius looked up as Griffin climbed onto the chair next to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Why are you sad? Malcolm got into Gryffindor!"

Sirius smiled at his son and leaned forward so their foreheads were touching."I'm very excited for Malcolm and very proud of him. I was just remembering when I was 11, and I got to go to Hogwarts and I met Remus and Harry's dad.It was a long time ago; and that made me feel a little sad."

Griffin shook his head, his bangs tickling Sirius as he did that. "Let's go see Remus and Katie then."

"Why?"

"Because that always makes you happy when you get sad like this."

"You make me very, very happy yourself, young Mr. Black."

Griffin grinned the grin that scared his mother and hopped down off the chair."Yeah, I know.Can we go?"

"Well, we'll have to ask Remus if that's okay.The Lupins might be busy, you know."

Griffin made for the door."I'll just go ask him."

Liz walked over and took the seat Griffin had just left.Sirius smiled at her and leaned closer so he could wrap his arms around her.

"Sirius, I can't believe even you taught a six year old how to use floo powder."

Sirius chuckled."He can only go to Remus', you know that.I love the boy but I certainly don't trust him loose in the floo network.Besides, it was the safest thing to do.I had a feeling that he was going to try and figure it out on his own, and that would have been…."

Liz put a finger to his lips and shook her head. "We have enough to deal with without imagining what ifs."

Sirius nodded, and said nothing else.They sat there in happy silence for a few minutes before they heard someone coming into the kitchen.

"Why, that's a familiar looking bird."

Sirius and Liz smiled at Remus, who walked in holding Griffin's hand.Sirius stood up and gave Remus a hug.

"A Gryffindor!Like there was any doubt!"

Remus laughed and pulled back to look at Sirius."Yes.Although, I thought maybe Ravenclaw for him."

Liz shook her head."Malcolm was a Gryffindor shoo-in.He may be very bright and have a very even temperament, but he's also fearless, and he's got a carefully hidden streak of highly creative mischief in him.Sound familiar?"

Sirius chuckled."Malcolm looks like Katie, but boy does he act like you."

Liz looked down at her own son and gave his hair an affectionate toss."As opposed to this one, who both looks like and acts like Sirius. It's a good thing I love them both very much, right Griffin?"

"Right. Look, can we go? Katie says she'll start Annie and I on jumping today.I'll just get my things."

Remus laughed as Griffin, always moving anyway, took off for his room."Well, not completely like Sirius.Loves horses, hates, and I mean _hates, _brooms. I thought I didn't like flying when I was that age."

Sirius smiled."What can I do?I'm not going to force him to learn, although he's going to have to eventually, which I pointed out to him.But he's not overly keen on doing anything he doesn't want to.Finds it much more entertaining to fall off horses than brooms, it would seem."

Liz raised an eyebrow."Mr. Black, he has never fallen off the pony.Not once.Which is amazing, considering everything else he's fallen off in six short years."

"Mrs. Black, it's a matter of time.At least his teacher's a healer."

Liz just gave him an amused look, then walked out after Griffin, patting Remus on the arm as she passed.Sirius and Remus stood in the kitchen looking at each other for a few moments.Sirius grinned merrily at him, and Remus returned the look with one equally wide and pleased.

"Malcolm's at Hogwarts.Oh, Remus; I have dreamed of this day."

"Katie says that if she gets one owl she can trace back to anything we did or said, we are going to regret it."

"I asked my older godson what had become of the Marauder's Map, since he was the last one who had it.He got very, very evasive in his answers."

"I made him promise not to give Malcolm the invisibility cloak.I didn't actually mention the map."

"Well, that's fair.That was James' cloak, but it's all of ours map."

"Have you told Griffin about it?"

Sirius laughed."Are you mad?Honestly, I'm waiting to see if maybe he doesn't come up with something like that on his own.I wouldn't put it past him."

Remus nodded, still grinning."Yes.Griffin is definitely one to watch.Like Roarke."

Sirius laughed again."That girl is a terror.I adore her.Now, when _she _gets to Hogwarts …."

"She's going to be in the same class as George Weasley's oldest.That should prove interesting."

They turned as they heard Liz calling out that she was taking Griffin and heading over to the Lupins.Remus walked over to where Boinn sat, reaching out to gently stroke her head, before offering her his arm.

"Wait!Don't send her back yet, I need to send Malcolm a note."

Remus stood quietly with the owl, staring out the window while he waited for Sirius.Sirius grabbed a small piece of parchment and wrote quickly.

Malcolm-

I am so very proud of you and happy for you.As much comfort as it gives you to picture your father and I there in the tower, just think how comforting we also find it to picture you sitting there.That makes you closer to us as well.Work hard –I know you'll do very well, just like always.These are wonderful days for you, Malcolm.We promised you when you were brand new all those years ago that we would do whatever we could to make everything right for you.Your parents, me & Liz; everything that happened was worth it, and every time I look at you, your sisters, Griffin, I feel that same way. 

I love you very much, and I miss you already.Write when you can.If you need anything, let me know. And, My Little Marauder, have fun._Lots _of fun.

Love, 

Sirius

P.S.: One more note on that fun bit – Harry seems to have suddenly forgotten where he put the map.I told him that it was an heirloom, as well as being dead useful, and that it needs to be taken care of properly. Understood?

Sirius folded the note and addressed it to Malcolm, then gave it to Boinn."Alright, you.Take that directly to Malcolm, please.We'll see you later."

Remus opened the window and let the owl go.He stood there, watching the bird disappear, not moving for a long time.Sirius understood.As painful as it had been for him to watch Malcolm leave yesterday on the Hogwarts Express, it was worse for Remus.Remus had kept up his happy façade until the last minute though, when Malcolm had hugged him and said that he didn't need to pretend anymore.Both of them were trying very hard not to cry at that point, and Sirius had to resist the urge to just grab Malcolm and tell him he couldn't go and that was that.Finally, the train left.Remus looked ill as they left the station.Liz and Sirius went back with Remus and Katie to the Lupins, where Remus finally dissolved into tears and locked himself in his study so he wouldn't upset the girls.

"Moony?"

Remus looked at him.Sirius smiled, looking at Remus' now completely grey hair and the lines on Remus' face; thinking about how young they had been when they first met, all those years ago on the train to Hogwarts. _I'm a little grey and lined myself, now._

"I'm alright, Padfoot.It's just going to be hard getting used to not having him here with us."

"Moony, I know how close you and Malcolm are. I know how hard it is for you, and Katie, to have him so far away. To be honest, all I've been thinking about since yesterday is how short a time it will be until Liz and I put Griffin on that train.And it hurts."

Remus nodded. "We've suffered worse, right?"

Sirius laughed."Oh yes. Remember when Malfoy tried to burn us alive?That wasn't very pleasant."

Remus smiled at that."That's a memory I could have done without stirring up.Did you ever tell your lovely wife that you suspected her of being a Death Eater for 20 seconds?"

Sirius grinned."Of course.She was pleased, actually.Said that the point _was _to have people think she was a Death Eater."

Remus shook his head. "One of many interesting little adventures. Never a dull moment, was there?I've started telling Malcolm about some of it, now that he's old enough. I think he was rather amused by some of it; other parts upset him and he told me he's heard enough for a while."

Sirius nodded, then started towards the other room so they could take the floo network to Remus' house."Well, it was all worth it.I just told your boy that in that note.It was worth everything we went through to get here."

"Very true."

*****

A/N: Oh, this has been fun, if exhausting.I want to thank all of you who were so kind and sent such lovely reviews and enjoyed this.I had a blast writing it, but now I need a break.Although I can't help thinking about what Malcolm might get up to at Hogwarts.And God protect us all when Griffin gets loose.He'll be up there with Roarke, you know.


End file.
